12 March,2018 06:35 AM IST | London | IANS
Services at London's King's Cross and Manchester Piccadilly ground came to a halt amid demonstrations against Turkey's military offensive in northern Syria on Sunday, media report said. Waving flags in support of a number of Kurdish organisations, the demonstrators disrupted transport networks for a number of hours, Xinhua reported.
At the time of Manchester Piccadilly's closure, British Transport Police superintendent Mark Cleland said the force appreciated and respected "the right to peaceful protest". However, "Those involved in this afternoon's incident will be subject to intense investigation with a view to arrest and prosecution," Cleland said.
Hours later, the sudden protest in London King's Cross also forced that station to close. King's Cross station was temporarily closed as police stopped protesters from accessing the tracks, British Transport Police said. They then moved outside the station, blocking Euston Road briefly before heading towards Russell Square.
ALSO READ
US Embassy in London returns to normal after police carry out controlled explosion of package
London's Gatwick Airport evacuates part of South Terminal due to suspicious item
London Gatwick evacuates part of South Terminal after security incident
Authorities carry out controlled explosion near US Embassy in London
Unimoni Makes a Resounding Debut at the World Travel Market in London
National Rail said Kings Cross station has fully re-opened but trains to and from there may still be delayed or revised as the service recovers, according to BBC. The demonstrations in Britain and other parts of Europe followed several months of conflict between Kurdish groups and Turkish forces in Afrin, northern Syria.
The Kurds' supporters are angered by Turkey's assault on Afrin, which it launched on January 20 with the stated aim of dislodging the People's Protection Units (YPG), a U.S.-back Kurdish militia that Ankara considers a terrorist group.
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever