ISTANBUL: Riot police re-entered Istanbul's protest square Tuesday, sending demonstrators scrambling with tear gas and water cannon in a fresh escalation of unrest after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with protest leaders.

Hundreds of police officers backed by armoured cars moved in on Taksim Square in the early morning in their first return to the site after pulling out on June 1, saying they wanted to remove makeshift barricades erected by protesters and clear the area of flags and banners.

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