Turkish police on Sunday clashed with pro-Kurdish protestors in a flashpoint district of Istanbul, leaving at least two wounded, an AFP photographer and reports said.

Protesters in the Gazi district of the European side of the city — known as a staunchly anti-government stronghold — came out to protest against military operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeast which activists say have left dozens of civilians dead.

Police arrived in armoured vehicles and fired tear gas canisters, while wounded protesters were taken away on stretchers, the photographer said.

Pro-Kurdish media reports said that at least two were wounded and the police had used live ammunition. But this was not confirmed by official sources.

The army has for the last month pressed a campaign to push Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants out of their southeast urban strongholds, backed by curfews. But campaigners say it has come with a heavy human cost.

AFP