A Turkish protest group demanded on Wednesday that the government abandon plans to redevelop an Istanbul park and that it sack governors and police chiefs the group holds responsible for violence during days of clashes across Turkey.

Members of the Taksim Solidarity group told reporters they had delivered the demands - also including the release of arrested protesters, a halt to police use of teargas and the removal of obstacles to freedom of speech - to Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc at a meeting in the capital Ankara.

The police reaction to Friday's peaceful protest over plans for the park sparked days of violent clashes in which two people have been killed. – Reuters