EMET, Turkey, March 14 (UPI) -- Protesters marched and an angry mob set fire to tents at a construction site in central Turkey after workers allegedly raised a Kurdish flag, officials said.
Cihan news agency said a group of about 20 young people attacked the site Tuesday night in Emet, setting fire to living quarters. The attack was allegedly sparked by a fight early in the day between two residents and worker at the construction site.
Local youth allegedly spread rumors the construction workers had raised a Kurdistan Workers' Party flag, prompting a march by nearly 500 people on the construction site. Police used teargas and cut off electricity to surrounding streets in an effort to get to the crowd to disperse.
Protesters threw rocks at a police car carrying Kutahya's provincial governor Kenan Ciftci, who attempted to calm angry residents as he addressed the crowd through a megaphone, Today's Zaman said.
The construction workers were eventually evacuated by police, the newspaper said.
