Kurds clash with police in eastern Turkey on Sunday amid Newroz celebrations, which authorities said are only permitted on the 21 of March.<br/> <br />The clashes broke out when Kurdish demonstrations insisted on taking part in early celebrations for the traditional Kurdish New Year.<br/> <br />Police fired water cannon and tear gas, while demonstrations retaliated by hurling stones.<br/> <br />Violence also erupted in Istanbul, where police fired smoke grenades towards demonstrators, and chased protesters along a main highway in Turkey's biggest city.<br/> <br />Newroz is also celebrated in Iran, northern Iraq and central Asia as the beginning of spring.<br/> <br />It often sparks clashes between Turkish security forces and supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which took up arms in 1984 to carve out a Kurdish ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey.<br/> <br />Around 12 to 14 million people out of Turkey's population of 70 million are Kurdish.<br/> <br />Travis Brecher, Reuters
