halt traffic but were stopped by police, who made a number of arrests. Several protesters were injured.

One woman broke her leg and several others were injured in the western city of Izmir when police tried to stop crowds marching towards local government buildings, the NTV news channel reported.

Protesters in Istanbul threw fireworks into police lines while hundreds of people - including bystanders caught up in the melee, sheltered in a shopping centre and a hotel lobby as police fired tear gas and pepper spray.

Large crowds yelling anti-government slogans in Istanbul had lit a huge fire as they headed towards a cemetery for Berkin's burial.

Scuffles broke out in the city's Taksim Square - the epicentre of last June's mass protests - when police tried to prevent a group ofprotesters from congregating there.

Hurriyet said the clashes were dying down overnight after forceful police measures.

'Suffocate the killers'

The teenager's coffin - draped in red and covered in flowers - had been carried through the streets to a hill-top cemetery, surrounded by huge crowds.

image copyright Reuters image caption Towards the end of Wednesday protesters in Istanbul threw fireworks into police lines

Mourners shouted "Berkin's murderers are the AKP police", referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"The rage of mothers will suffocate the killers," screamed others.

The boy's father, Sami Elvan, told the BBC's Newshour programme that his son had become a "child of the people".

Asked how he would like him to be remembered, he said: "I want him to be known as a child killed by