ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Thousands of people have lined the streets to celebrate Istanbul Pride, despite the march being banned by authorities for the fifth year.

Demonstrators gathered in the Turkish city to promote rights for gay and transgender people, before the police dispersed the crowd.

Colourful photographs showed hundreds of rainbow-donned activists take to the streets, as many marched with flags.

Istanbul Pride organisers said the city's governor's office banned the march from central Taksim district as well as a square designated for demonstrations west of the city.

Police allowed representatives to make a short statement to the media before officers dispersed the crowd with tear gas, blocking the street. Police dogs were also at the scene.

The Istanbul Pride group said it would continue activism to get sexual orientation and gender identity recognised in Turkish laws.

Amnesty International had urged Turkey to lift the "arbitrary ban" on the pride march.

It said authorities rejected all suggested locations in the city by deeming the LGBT community "societally objectionable".

Istanbul had up to 100,000 people attend a pride march in 2014 but police have blocked such marches since.

Though homosexuality has been legal in Turkey for decades, rights groups say discrimination is widespread.

The new mayor of Istanbul told a group of international journalists on Friday that any group should be free to demonstrate as long as protests do not disturb the peace.

Ekrem Imamoglu said he would discuss the reasons for the ban with relevant authorities.