As Turkey prepares for general elections on Nov. 1, two Justice and Development Party (AK Party) campaign offices were attacked by unknown assailants on Sunday.
In the Esenyurt district of Istanbul a group of about 20 people attacked a campaign office for the party with stones and bricks, smashing windows. They then proceeded to trash the office, throwing furniture into the street before fleeing. The office was empty at the time of the attack, but locals speaking to the media said they feared more attacks, pointing out that a masked mob had thrown Molotov cocktails at the office on Saturday.
In the Tepebaşı district of the province of Eskişehir, a group armed with sticks and stones attacked an AK Party campaign office, heavily damaging it before fleeing.
Turkey is often the scene of violence targeting political parties ahead of almost all elections. AK Party campaign offices were also targeted prior to the June 7 general elections, although there no casualties.
