Riot police storm protestors in Istanbul's Taksim Square

Riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse about 10,000 Istanbul-ites who had marched and gathered in the city's Taksim Square.

The march, organised by the group Taksim Solidarity, was to pay tribute to the three Turkish protesters and one police officer who died in the initial protests which started three weeks ago.

The crowd had begun gathering in the square as early as 7pm and were singing and chanting right up till dusk at around 8:30pm when the police decided to storm in after warning the crowd to disperse.

Police continued to clash with pockets of protestors at the edges of Taksim Square right up till after midnight, while the square itself was cordoned off by police by then.

Dozens of plain cloth policemen were seen deploying in to Istiklal Avenue off Taksim Square. An Al-Jazeera journalist was alleged to have been beaten by police and has suffered a broken wrist.

Many of the protestors feel that it is their right to gather at Taksim Square and Gezi Park since it belongs to the people and not the government.

Prime Minister Erdogan has announced that when they dispersed the occupiers of Gezi Park last week, it was so it could be opened up to the public. As of today, the park is still being cordoned off by the police and no one is allowed in.