Istanbul, September 2 (RHC)-- Police in Turkey have used water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas to break up an anti-government demonstration held in the northwestern city of Istanbul. Some 500 people gathered in the city's Istiklal Street on Tuesday, while shouting slogans against the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Police tried to break up the protesters, who were attempting to form a human chain, by firing tear gas and water cannon down the street in the busy commercial area. According to reports, over a dozen people were arrested by the police during the rally.

Turkey has been the scene of violent clashes between security forces and protesters after Ankara started airstrikes against the positions of PKK militants in southern Turkey and northern Iraq in July.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead. A shaky ceasefire that had stood since 2013 was declared void by the PKK following the Turkish airstrikes against the group.