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A BRAWL erupted outside the residence of Turkey's ambassador to Washington following a White House visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan supporters and security guards clashed with Kurdish and Armenian protesters who accuse him of human rights abuses - leaving nine in hospital with one in a critical condition.

Turkish President Erdogan's supporters and security detail clashed in Washington DC
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Turkish President Erdogan's security detail, seen here in dark suits, clashed with Kurdish protesters in Washington DCCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC
A Kurd protester is repeatedly kicked on the ground in the terrifying scenes
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A Kurd protester is repeatedly kicked on the ground in the terrifying scenesCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC
Kurds accuse the Turkish government of human rights violations against them
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A Kurdish supporter is flattened in the fighting. The Kurds accuse the Turkish government of human rights violations against themCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC

Two people were arrested as Erdogan and Trump attempted to improve relations between their countries.

The Turkish president stopped by the ambassador's residence in the upscale Sheridan Circle neighbourhood, where protests prompted city officials to shut down nearby streets.

Yazidi Kurd demonstrator Lucy Usoyan told ABC: "All of the sudden they just ran towards us.
"Someone was beating me in the head non-stop, and I thought, 'OK, I'm on the ground already, what is the purpose to beat me?'"
Washington police eventually sent reinforcements and restored order, but emergency services said nine people were taken to the hospital, one of them in critical condition.

Cops tried to keep the rival factions apart but there were still scuffles
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Cops tried to keep the rival factions apart but they could not stop violence from eruptingCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC
Video shows men in suits, believed to be Erdogan’s bodyguards, pummeling the protesters
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Video shows Erdogan’s bodyguards pummelling the protesters and kicking them on the groundCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC
A Washington DC cop tries to bring the chaotic scene under control
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A Washington DC cop tries to bring the chaotic scene under controlCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC
The fights took place outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in the upscale Sheridan Circle neighbourhood
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The fights took place outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in the upscale Sheridan Circle neighbourhoodCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC

Police managed to keep the rival groups apart at first, but they were eventually forced out of the way.

Erdogan's security detail reportedly attacked protesters carrying the flag of the Kurdish PYD party.

The Turkish government believes the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units in Syria are simply the Syrian arm of the PKK, which has waged a deadly insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

Since the 1980s, Kurdish movements have included both peaceful political activities for basic civil rights for Kurds in Turkey as well as armed rebellion and guerrilla warfare.

In April last year a huge car bomb killed at least 11 at a police station in Turkey – with scores more wounded.

The devastating explosion hit the south-eastern town of Cizre.

Videos from Tuesday's protests showed people from both sides shouting and being punched - with each side accusing the other of being the aggressors.

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US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House
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US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White HouseCredit: Getty Images
A large crowd of Erdogan's supporters waving Turkish flags confronted the Kurdish and Armenian supporters
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A large crowd of Erdogan's supporters waving Turkish flags confronted the Kurdish and Armenian supportersCredit: Twitter / Baltimore BLOC

"Pro-Erdogan demonstrator, Mustafa Dikilitas, told ABC television: "We weren't doing anything wrong. We just celebrated our president.

Another pro-Erdogan demonstrator, Busra Eren, said: "One of the YPG supporters ran across, picked up a megaphone and hit a Turkish citizen with ."

But demonstrators on the other side blamed Erdogan's partisans for the violence.

 

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