Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Turkey, amid a crackdown on the opposition, has found a new supplier for anti-riot equipment.

Amnesty International reported that the Islamist government in Ankara has begun ordering anti-riot equipment from South Korea. Amnesty said the Turkish Interior Ministry procured 1.9 million tear canisters from a South Korean company.

“The first batch of riot control equipment is scheduled for delivery by a South Korean company to the Turkish government in mid-January 2015,” Amnesty said.

President Recep Erdogan has ordered a significant increase in anti-riot equipment amid rising anti-government unrest. The government has been procuring armored personnel carriers and non-lethal munitions to battle civilian protesters.

“The type and quantities of equipment are consistent with what the Turkish security forces used against demonstrations in the past year and what they would need to replenish their stockpiles in 2015,” Amnesty, which did not identify the supplier, said.

“The South Korean arms manufacturer has previously supplied riot control equipment to the authorities in Turkey as well as Bahrain.”

Amnesty said two civilians were killed by tear gas fired by police in 2013. Another 8,000 were injured in the protests, many of them struck by police firing tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators.

European Union countries have been pressured to reduce security exports to Ankara. The Turkish government was said to have negotiated deals with Asian allies, including China and Pakistan.

“All shipments of tear gas and other riot control equipment to Turkey must be suspended immediately or they risk fuelling further repression and abuses,” Amnesty security expert Marek Marczynski said.

  Turkey finds new anti-riot supplier in S. Korea as demonstrations increase, WorldTribune.com