ANKARA (AFP) - Turkish riot police fired tear gas in the centre of Ankara on Monday night to disperse hundreds of protesters on the 11th day of mass demonstrations against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government.

Riot police poured into the affluent Tunali Hilmi street which until now has largely been spared from the riots which have rocked the capital nightly since the unrest erupted in the country on May 31.

Restaurant owners were forced to shut themselves in with their clients to escape the gas, on the third consecutive night of clashes between protesters and police in the capital.

Most of the demonstrators fled after being charged by the police.

The fresh unrest comes after Erdogan held out a surprise olive branch, accepting to meet with protest leaders on Wednesday.