Turkish police used pepper spray, rubber bullets and water cannons against demonstrators in the capital Ankara in the early hours of today, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
This could potentially reignite tensions after two days of relative calm in the country's largest anti-government demonstrations in more than a decade.
The protests began last week after the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - a key political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu is in custody on corruption charges that many believe are politically motivated and is also accused of supporting terrorism.
The government says the justice system is independent, but critics say the evidence in the case is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.
Earlier today, student protesters attempted to march and gathered to read a statement near the gate of the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. There, they were met by security forces who used pepper spray, water cannons and rubber bullets. A standoff ensued between demonstrators and police, with students taking cover behind a barricade of garbage containers as police stormed to contain the protesters.
Melich Meric, a lawmaker from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was doused with water and injured by pepper spray. "My student friends just wanted to make a statement to the media, but the police categorically did not allow it (and) this is the result," Meric said in videos distributed by local media.
The authorities did not say how many were detained.
Yozgul Özel, the leader of the CHP - the party to which İmamoğlu belongs - promised that his lawmakers would stand with the demonstrators in the hope that this would reduce tensions. He also warned that if the police provoked the protesters, he could summon "500,000 people to a place that would disturb" Erdogan to the greatest extent.
Yesterday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 1,418 people had been detained since the protests began.