Thousands in the Turkish capital Ankara and Istanbul took to the streets yesterday in solidarity with the resistance of Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) students against the construction of a highway that is planned to cut through their campus and the neighborhood of 100. Yıl.

Protests against the construction have been going on since early Friday morning when police attacked a group of students who were on guard duty to prevent the felling of trees on the campus since the construction works began on August 25.

Police detained some 15 people and continued their crackdown on peaceful protestors in the evening as well. Construction vehicles restarted to work in the area after the police attack.

Protests in the campus area, as well as in the 100.Yıl neighborhood, also continued on Saturday when thousands marched to the campus area in the evening.

Police attacked the protestors as they reached the construction site to prevent the road construction, using rubber bullets as well as intense tear gas and pressure water.

Clashes between demonstrators and police lasted till late into the night. Students were also supported by residents of the neighborhood protesting the demolishment of the forested area on the campus.

Demonstrators in the capital's Mamak and Dikmen districts also clashed with police in the face of brutal attack with tear gas.

On the other hand, police also attacked people who gathered in Istanbul's Galatasaray neighborhood on Saturday evening in solidarity with the ODTÜ resistance. Police used intense tear gas and pressure water against peaceful demonstrators. At least six were taken into custody.

Protestors supporting ODTÜ students in the neighborhood of Gazi, densely populated by Kurds and Alewites, were also subjected to police crackdown.

People in İzmir, Mersin, Adana, Eskişehir, İzmit also took to the streets in mass to display solidarity with the ODTÜ struggle against police and the demolition of the trees on their campus.

The protests in ODTÜ and many other places around the country are being commented as the beginning of a new wave of protests in Turkey, and are said to have awoken the Gezi spirit that appeared to have been slumbering for a while.

Five people were killed, 7681 people were wounded, 2841 detained and among them 70 were remanded in custody as a result of brutal police interventions during Gezi Park protests across the country from 27 May to 24 June.

Protests were sparked by a group of environmentalists who did not leave the park area resisting to prevent the demolition of the park as part of Taksim pedestrianization project. Demonstrations soon expanded to other cities as more and more people took to the streets across the country in protest against the practices and policies of the ruling AKP government.