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Istanbul’s governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said the square was off-limits to the public for the time being, and nobody would be allowed to gather. A spokesman for the protesters vowed the group would retake Gezi Park.

“We will win Taksim Square again and we will win Taksim Gezi Park again,” Alican Elagoz said.

A call went out for another demonstration in Taksim Square for Sunday afternoon, but the area was within a tight police cordon and passers-by were being subjected to identity checks and bag searches.

Thousands of protesters trying to reach the area were stuck on side streets and in nearby neighborhoods in a blanket of tear gas. Stumbling to avoid the gas, they piled into nearby cafes and restaurants, where waiters clutched napkins to their faces.

Stone-throwing youths and riot police clashed in Istanbul’s Sisli neighborhood next to the Taksim area. Television footage showed police deploying two water cannon trucks against the youths, standing near a flaming barricade blocking the street. Rocks littered the roadway.

In a district about 10 kilometers (six miles) from Taksim, Erdogan, who has repeatedly insisted that the protests were part of a plot by bankers and foreign media to destabilize Turkey, was preparing to deliver a speech to thousands of supporters at a political rally.

A similar speech in Ankara on Saturday before the raid was attended by tens of thousands, who cheered him as he warned protesters that security forces “know how to clear” the area.