Mediaboss Marketing

Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is seen watching his security officials beat protesters outside the countrys embassy in Washington in newly released video footage.

The bloodyclash, which sent nine people to a hospital, took place Tuesday night just hours after Erdogan met with President Trump.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House with President Trump May 16, 2017 (White House photo)

CNN reported the video shows Erdogan standing near his car as the fighting broke out then turning his back and walking into the Turkish embassy.

Photos and videos of the scene on Embassy Row during rush hour showed men in dark suits punching and kicking protesters, including some who were lying on the ground. Two men were seen bleeding from the head.

The State Department, which is investigating the incident, summoned Turkeys ambassador to the U.S., Serdar Kl, to the State Department, a senior State Department official told CNN.

Like the reporting you see here? Sign up for free news alerts from WND.com, Americas independent news network.

The conduct of Turkish security personnel earlier this week is deeply disturbing, the official said. The State Department has raised its concerns about these events at the highest levels and a thorough investigation that will allow us to hold the responsible individuals accountable is of the utmost importance to us.

Members of Erdogans security team also clashed with demonstrators last year outside the Brookings Institution in Washington, where Erdogan was giving a speech.

Brookings issued a statement at the time saying the security team behaved unacceptably they roughed up protesters outside the building and tried to drag away undesired journalists, an approach typical of the Russians or Chinese.

As WND reported, many geopolitical analysts are concerned the NATO nation, once regarded as a potential member of the European Union, is being systematically transformed into an anti-Western power. Fifteen years into his rule, Erdogan is abandoning the secular tradition of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, in favor of Islamic nationalism.

Last month, Erdogan declared victory in a referendum to grant him sweeping powers in a vote opponents charged was marred by irregularities.

The measure, with 51.5 percent of the vote, replaced Turkeys parliamentary system with an all-powerful presidency and abolished the office of prime minister.

A week before his visit to the U.S., Erdogan urged Muslims to swarmthe Temple Mount to act as a counter to the insult of occupied Jerusalem.

He called Israel a racist and discriminatory state that is reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa.

Erdogan also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to work on unifying efforts to protect Jerusalem against attempts of Judaization, the independent Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

In December, as WND reported, hacked emails released by WikiLeaks showed Erdogans son-in-law is tied to the company accused of importing oil from ISIS. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov previously told journalists in Moscow that Erdogan and his family were involved in ISIS illegal oil trade and personally benefiting from it.

Turkey also has been accused of training ISIS fighters and of providing direct support to ISIS.

Strong relationship

At the White House Tuesday, Trump and Erdogan described the relationship between the two countries as strong but avoided the differences over strategies for confronting ISIS in northern Syria.

Pastor Andrew Brunson

Last week, the Trump administration decided to supply heavy weapons to Syrian Kurdish rebel militias, the YPG, who are part of the U.S.-backed alliance preparing march on the ISIS de-facto capital, Raqqa, later this year. Turkey is in an ongoing battle with Kurdish separatists in its southeast.

The Turkish embassy claimsthe protesters at the embassy Tuesday were affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the leading Kurdish separatist group, which has been banned in Turkey.

The case of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been imprisoned in Turkey without formal charges since October, was brought up three times during Trumps meeting with Erdogan, twice by Trump and once by Vice President Mike Pence, CBN reported.

A former member of Turkeys Parliament who has advocated for Brunsons release, Aykan Erdemir, told CBN that Brunson, improbably accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization, is now a pawn, kind of a trump card in Erdogans hand.

Theres absolutely no rule of law, no due process in that case, its a completely bogus case. Anyone who has looked at the case knows that these are trumped up charges, he said.

Turkish President Erdogan is seen surveying the violence before entering the Turkish ambassadors residence (Voice of America Turkish)

Turkey claims self-defense

The senior State Department official who spoke to CNN said two members of Erdogans security detail were briefly detained during the altercations and subsequently released.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called for the Turkish ambassador to be expelled.

The Turkish embassy, in its statement, claimed theprotesters began aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens who had peacefully assembled to greet the President.

The Turkish-Americans responded in self-defense, the statement said. We hope that, in the future, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that similar provocative actions causing harm and violence do not occur.

Like the reporting you see here? Sign up for free news alerts from WND.com, Americas independent news network.

Read more:
Video shows Erdogan watching embassy melee - WND.com