Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday defended a violent police crackdown on anti-government protesters, saying it was his "duty" to order the evacuation of Istanbul's Gezi Park after demonstrators defied his warnings to leave.

"I said we were at an end. That it was unbearable. Yesterday the operation was carried out and it was cleaned up," Erdogan said at an election rally in the city. "It was my duty as prime minister."