In Ankara, Islamist protesters call for Turkish troops to be sent to Gaza

ISTANBUL – Supporters of an Islamist group march to the US Embassy in Ankara, hours ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s expected arrival in the Turkish capital.

Several hundred protesters chant “God is Great” and hold their index fingers skywards as they approach the compound in the city’s Cukurambar neighborhood.

Riot police line up in front of the US complex as the crowd, many carrying black and white flags with Arabic script, call for Turkish soldiers to be sent to Gaza.

The demonstration was organized by Radical Change, which says it promotes the “living of authentic Islamic ideas” and “the intellectual and political aspects of Islam.”

The demonstration is the latest in Turkey to highlight the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

“We, as Muslims, gathered to state that we will speak out against this genocide and that we will not accept it, that our armies and our nation are against Israel and on the side of the people of Gaza,” protester Ebru Petek tells The Associated Press.

Most Popular