Shocking footage has emerged showing violent clashes between people protesting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his suited bodyguards and supporters in Washington DC.
Authorities said nine people were hurt and two arrests were made during the altercation that took place outside of the residence of the Turkish ambassador.
In the disturbing video, protesters were seen being knocked to the ground and then kicked - sometimes repeatedly in the head - by men in suits.
Footage from the scene shows two elderly men, believed to be protesters, bleeding from the head - their clothing covered in blood.
Flint Arthur, one of those at the protest against Erdogan, told CNN why they were demonstrating.
'We are protesting (Erdogan's) policies in Turkey, in Syria and in Iraq,' he said, before turning the comments towards the tactics adopted by those supporting the president.
'They think they can engage in the same sort of suppression of protest and free speech that they engage in in Turkey.
'They stopped us for a few minutes ... but we still stayed and continued to protest Erdogan's tyrannical regime.'
The Guardian reports protesters were carrying the flag of the Kurdish PYD party.
Doug Buchanan, a DC Fire and EMS spokesman, said two of those hurt were seriously injured and were taken to hospitals by ambulance.
He said by phone that emergency personnel were called to the residence about 4.30pm Tuesday.
Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck says the altercation broke out between two groups but he didn't elaborate on the circumstances.
He said two people were arrested, including one who was charged with assaulting a police officer.
The altercation came the same day that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with President Donald Trump at the White House.
The State Department declined to comment.
news source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4513490/Turkish-president-s-bodyguards-attack-protesters-DC.html
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