Tear gas and rubber bullets used as police evict Özgür Özel from CHP headquarters

Tear gas drifted across Ankara on May 24 as Turkish riot police pushed crowds away from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) headquarters, using rubber bullets to clear supporters gathered around party leader Özgür Özel. South China Morning Post reported that officers evicted Özel—described as having been ousted—from the building during the operation, intensifying a simmering leadership struggle inside the main opposition party.^[1]

Video and witness accounts described a chaotic dispersal as security forces moved in and the crowd broke into smaller groups along nearby streets. Despite the forceful tactics, The Japan Times said there were no immediate reports of injuries linked to the police intervention at the headquarters.^[2]

After the building was cleared, Özel and his supporters regrouped and set off on foot toward Turkey’s Parliament, more than five kilometers away, as Breitbart reported.^[3] The march shifted the confrontation from the party’s doors to the city’s main arteries, raising the prospect of further clashes if police try to block the route.^[3]

The move is the latest chapter in a deepening crisis that culminated on May 24, when police forced a faction of the opposition out of its own headquarters amid a widening crackdown and internal power fight. With the CHP under pressure and its leadership contested, the day’s scenes underscored how quickly party infighting can spill into public order tensions in the capital.^[1]