Turkish police backing Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and protestors are defiantly clashing in Istanbul's Taksim square.

In a speech Prime Minister Tayep Erdogan warned protesters, who have been demonstrating in the square for nearly two weeks, that "'it's over.' We won't show any more tolerance."

Erdogan's stern message came hours after hundreds of police raided Taksim square with tear gas and water cannons to clear it of the protesters and the barriers erected to resist the police.

The protesters subsequently came back by the thousands, and the police have re-entered the square to clear it again.

"It's very chaotic now and difficult to establish what is happening," Ziya Meral, a Turkey analyst based at the University of Cambridge, told BBC News.

Intermittent pops of police firing tear gas canisters or rubber bullets can be heard on Russia Today's live feed.

Police are amassing in the square while protesters hurl fireworks and officers lob tear gas canisters.

Here's what the square looked like the first time they cleared out the area:

Here's what is look like at about 2:30 EDT — protesters were hunkered down, building several fires and milling about.

Protesters built a fire in the square and police trucks mounted with water cannons are spraying people nearby.

The protests began 12 days ago when about dozen people began protesting the removal of trees in Gezi park near the square.

Demonstrators — backed by Turkey's robust labor unions — have been demanding that the government abandon plans to overhaul the heart of Istanbul and that it sack authorities deemed responsible for violence during recent clashes.

Erdogan is intent on removing trees in Gezi Park and build a mosque in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

It is unknown if talks between the two sides, scheduled for Wednesday, will take place.

Here's a guy in a wheelchair getting hit with a water cannon:

And another dramatic shot:

Dramatic images from clashes in Istanbul's Taksim Square: on.wsj.com/12jzHrK (Photo: EPA) twitter.com/WSJ/status/344… — Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 11, 2013

Here's a particularly striking picture from earlier (check out more from Reuters):

Protesters react after an explosion on a barricade during clashes in Istanbul's Taksim square June 11, 2013. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

Here's what the square, which lies about 2,000 feet from Erdogan's office, looked like on Saturday:

People shout anti-government slogans as they gather for a demonstration at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 8, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal



