Massive crowd turned out for peace march in Lefkosa (Photos)

Despite the heavy down pour this evening, the rain could not prevent Turkish Cypriots from attending a march for peace and democracy in Lefkosa this evening with up to about five thousand in attendance.

The march comes in the wake of an attack against Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika and the house of parliament on Monday this week. 

The march, organized by more than 20 Turkish Cypriot trade unions, groups and NGOs under the umbrella of the Trade Unions Platform, began at around 5.30pm at Dereboyu  and marched towards the ‘parliament’ building. The rally ended about an hour later, without any incidents of note. 

Afrika news paper was attacked by mob on Monday after it published an article on Sunday criticizing ‘Turkey of invasion in reference to Turkey’s military action in Afrin, Syria.

There were shouts of ‘shoulder to shoulder against fascism' during the march while there were report of tensions between police and the crowd as roads were blocked off Dereboyu and the parliament building barricaded.

The march was called off at 6.45pm,due to the heavy rain fell, with the officials saying the amplifiers used for the event could be damaged by the rain but some activists remained after the call to end the demonstration.