Soldiers carry wreaths sent by government officials ahead of the funeral parade for Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK. He has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Soldiers carry wreaths sent by government officials ahead of the funeral parade for Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK. He has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

A captain commanding the honor guard waits for the funeral parade of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK. He has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Officers and non-commissioned Officers of the four armed forces of Turkey wait for the coffin of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Turkish military commanders and politicians wait for the funeral parade of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Turkish military commanders and politicians wait for the funeral parade of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Turkish military commanders and politicians wait for the funeral parade of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

A soldier carries the portrait of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Soldiers carrying the coffin of Colonel Ihsan Ejdar march in front of his mourning family. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Soldiers stand by the coffin of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Soldiers of the honor guard march ahead of the funeral parade of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

A navy non-commissioned officer directs workers arranging the Turkish Armed Forces' wreaths in front of Kocatepe mosque. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Workers carry the wreath by Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be placed next to the one sent by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in honor of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK. He has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Workers arrange the wreath sent by the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in honor of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK. He has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

A sign reads "Area for Relatives of the deceased" during the funeral of of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

The mother of fallen colonel is helped towards the Kocatepe mosque. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Soldiers carry the coffin and portrait of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Soldiers carry the coffin and portrait of Army Lieutenant Colonel Ihsan Ejdar, 43, killed in combat with outlawed PKK, and who has been laid to rest with a State funeral at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara on October 18, 2015.

Another man had already been killed by a teargas canister shot during previous protests. In reaction, young people from the Chepesi party rioted for days against the police, yelling slogans and calling them Katil€ (criminals, murderers).

The Popular Republican Pary (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, or CHP) is the longest standing party in Turkey. It represents the strongest left-wing political force in the country.

Many young boys and men take to the streets. On one side, they throw stones and molotovs, on the other plastic bullets, teargas and Toma.

After the Gezi Park riots, many movements emerged to oppose the AKP and its leader, Prime Minister Recip Teyyip Erdogan, who has enforced various restrictions on freedom of speech and the press.

The protestors include both young and old people, the former in the front whilst the latter remain in the back to play a supporting role in clashes with the armed forces.

In suburbs prone to such clashes, once often encounters strong local support.

Since the beginning of the clashes, 9 people have died and more than 8163 have been injured. This does not include the number of arrests; it also makes the violence one of the most tragic events in recent Turkish history.

The number of Turkish security forces deployed in the neighborhood has steadily increased since the first wave of violence. During the clashes, police never entered the heart of the suburb, but are now slowly making deeper forays into the neighborhood.

After weeks of protests following the Soma mine disaster, police resorted to using real ammunition during the most violent clashes. Previously, only rubber bullets were used; the use of live ammunition has since then led to causalities.

Neighborhood life only stops in the greatest moments of tension, when vendors close their shops in order to protect themselves and their belongings. Many watch the events from a distance.

Home to several active parties, social tensions in the neighborhood also have political roots. These parties include the DHKP-C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front), considered an illegal terrorist organization by Erdogan's administration, the BDP (Party for Peace and Democracy) a legal party that supports the Kurdish cause, and the SODAP (Socialist Solidarity Platform).

22 May 2014. News of the shooting death of 30-year old Ugur Kurt was confirmed. He was killed by police in an Alevi mosque, or Cemevi, in the Okmaydani suburb of Istanbul.

Okmaydani is an far-left leaning neighbourhood where Turkish and Kurdish parties coexist. Due to its proximity to Taksim Square, it has been a major force in the protests surrounding the Gezi Park demonstrations.

Young boys and men take to the streets. On one side, they throw stones and molotovs. They are met with plastic bullets, teargas and armored police vehicles with water cannons.

A small demonstration of the DHKP/C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front) waves red flags through the neighborhood and shouting slogans in order to attract people into the streets.

The only signs left of the tension in Okmeydani from the previous days are poles wrecked by the protestors and some statements written on the walls in memory of Berkin Elvan, Urgu Kurt and Ayhan Yilmaz

The response after the arrests was lively.

The streets fill with teargas and barricades.

Once the police leave, people armed with guns and rifles come out to shoot security cameras. They want to prove who is in control of that part of the neighborhood.

For many on the political left in Turkey, conditions in the country are rapidly becoming a reason for social upheaval. The extreme poverty of some suburbs, the deaths of 300 miners in Soma, the marginalization of minorities, the war on the Syrian border, police oppression of protestors and restrictions on the press are exacerbating tensions in an already politically divided society.

The grievances that led to protests are tied to religious and communal issues. A large percentage of the protestors come from the Alevi (Alawite) sect, which has been long aligned with secular leftist parties. The Alevis have traditionally been lower-class and socially disadvantaged and have not benefitted from the prosperity that has taken part in other parts of Istanbul and Turkey. The Alevis and the left-wing movements they support stand in staunch opposition to the conservative, Sunni-Islamist ideology endorsed by Prime Minister Erdogan.

A funeral procession begins at Cem Evi. Starting at 18:00, the procession will continue toward the house where Ugur Kurt used to live. His body was eventually taken for burial to his hometown of Sivas.

After the demonstration in support of Ugur's family, the streets are empty. Around 19:30 a group of youngsters with their faces covered takes to one of Istanbul's main streets of Istanbul and provokes the police by throwing stones. The security forces, armed with Toma and teargas, respond immediately and disperse the crowd.

Canisters left by police are collected during the clashes.