Turkish police used a water cannon and rubber pellets to disperse a crowd gathering for an annual gay pride parade, Reuters reported Sunday.
It's unclear why authorities wanted to shut down the event, when people have marched in Istanbul's gay pride parade in previous years without incident. But this year's parade occurred during the month of Ramadan, which may not have been received well from conservative Muslims.
Turkey's Dogan news agency said police told demonstrators to disperse when they began gathering, telling them they would not be allowed to march.
Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but gay rights are generally rejected in Muslim countries.
