9 injured after brawls near Turkish Embassy in Tokyo

TOKYO, Oct. 25 Kyodo - At least nine people including two police officers were injured Sunday after a series of brawls apparently involving Turks and Kurds broke out near the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo, police said. More than 600 people had gathered at the embassy which began accepting overseas votes for the Nov. 1 general election in Turkey when the first quarrel broke out around 6:50 a.m., they said. Some of the mob threw bricks at each other, and a window of a sightseeing bus parked nearby was cracked. The Metropolitan Police Department later mobilized its riot squad to guard against further trouble in the area of Shibuya Ward near the embassy northeast of JR Harajuku Station, where there are also offices and residential buildings. The confrontation, which purportedly began after Turks and Kurds tried to display flags of their respective affiliated organizations, calmed down in the afternoon. Kurds, a minority in Turkey, face suppression in the country, including restrictions on the use of their language. The Turkish government has resisted moves by Kurds towards independence. ==Kyodo