Thousands protest in Europe to denounce terror attacks during peace rally in Ankara

Ankara: Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Europe on Saturday to denounce the suspected twin suicide attacks that killed at least 95 people during a peace rally in Ankara.

In Paris, police estimate that around one thousand people, a majority of whom were Kurdish, came out on Saturday afternoon to the city’s Place de la Republique to condemn the attacks.

The demonstration was called for by the Kurdish Democratic Council in France, which said in a statement that it “strongly condemns this cowardly and disgusting attack”.

In Strasbourg in northeastern France, another set of 400 people demonstrated, and several hundred came out in solidarity in the southern city of Marseille, with some holding signs reading “Murderer Erdogan”.

Organisers called for another demonstration to take place Sunday afternoon in Paris, to call for a “stop to the dirty war and state terror in Turkey and Kurdistan”.

Zurich saw one thousand people come out to the centre of the city in what police called a peaceful demonstration.

Some demonstrators in Zurich held signs reading “Stop state terror in Turkey”.

In Istanbul, an estimated 10,000 people marched down the city’s main central avenue to protest the attacks.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters there were “very strong signs” that the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.

With the country shattered by the deadliest attack in the history of modern Turkey, Davutoglu declared three days of national mourning.