Turkey erupts after president arrests 1,100 to snuff out rivals

TURKISH president president Recep Erdogan was accused of "staging a coup" last night as 1,133 people were imprisoned during protests against his government.

- By Giles Sheldrick

Trouble flared after political rival Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was arrested on corruption charges.

It comes as Erdogan's iron grip on power weakens as an increasingly unsettled country demands political change.

The crisis erupting across Turkey, where Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) controls virtually every major city, has sparked an unprecedented uprising over the past five days.

Erdogan condemned the demonstrations, accusing the CHP of trying to "disturb the peace and polarise our people".

Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and a candidate for joining the EU. But the European Commission yester day issued a stern reminder of Erdogan's duty to "uphold democratic values".