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Twitter temporarily blocked by Erdogan government as Turkey bans images of deadly suicide bombing in Suruc

32 people were killed in the attack in the Turkish town, which borders Syria

Victoria Richards
Thursday 23 July 2015 07:44 BST
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Turkey temporarily blocked Twitter and placed a ban on sharing images of the deadly suicide bombing in the border town of Suruc in which 32 people died.

President Tayyip Erdogan's government prohibited access to the social media site for two hours on Wednesday in an attempt to stop people broadcasting images of the attack, which has been linked to Isis, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

The news agency also claimed that officials were trying to stop Twitter users from calling for protests against the government for not doing more to prevent the bombing, CTV News reported.

A backlash - with the hashtag #TwitterBlockInTurkey - began immediately, amid claims that placing the ban only made those inside Turkey more determined to spread news of what was going on.

Hurriyet news reported that a court in Suruc banned the publication of "visual material related to the terror attack" and also ordered the removal of 107 pictures and videos of Monday's massacre.

At least 32 political activists and aid volunteers were killed in the attack on a municipal culture center in Suruc on July 20.

They were due to cross the border to help rebuild the Syrian town of Kobani.

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