ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Protesters demanding Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan resign over a high-level corruption scandal clashed with riot police in Istanbul on Friday (December 27), while across the city thousands staged a rival show of support for the embattled leader.<br/> <br />Around Taksim Square, center of anti-government demonstrations last summer, police fired tear gas and used water cannon against hundreds of protesters chanting "They are thieves".<br/> <br />Erdogan faces a crisis unprecedented during his 11 years in office due to the scandal that has forced three ministers' resignations and a cabinet reshuffle, as well as destabilizing the Turkish economy whose rapid growth has been a showpiece of his rule.<br/> <br />However, Erdogan still enjoys the loyalty of many pious Muslims and members of Turkey's wealthy elite.
