ISTANBUL (AFP) - The Turkish police fired massive volleys of tear gas and jets of water to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Istanbul's Taksim Square on Tuesday, after earlier apparently retreating, an Agence France-Presse reporter saw.

The gas sent the crowd scrambling, raising tensions on a 12th day of violence after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned he had "no more tolerance" for the mass demonstrations.