Alevis protest Suruç

Britain’s Alevi community has gathered on the streets of London in recent days to demonstrate against recent events in Turkey.

Two marches have taken place since the weekend, with one beginning on the Kingsland Road in Hackney, North London, and travelling to Stoke Newington police station. The other, meanwhile, took place on London’s iconic Tower Bridge across the River Thames.

Both events were organised by the British Alevi Federation and were held to protest last week’s bombing in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruç, where 31 people were killed and hundreds wounded in a suspected ISIS suicide bombing.

This was followed in Turkey by an attack on a cemevi, an Alevi place of worship, in Istanbul’s Gazi district – an event that was also deplored by the crowds of hundreds in London.

The central London event caused the temporary closure of Tower Bridge, which is known around the world for its ability to open up to allow tall ships through.