UP to 400 people joined a demonstration on Tuesday night in Didim as part of nationwide protests against the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants to the Turkish border in Syria.

Worldwide media has been reporting of the sweeping gains being made by IS across Syria and Iraq in recent months. That reached the border town of Kobani this week when the IS flag was raised briefly.

A US-coalition is fighting back with waves of air attacks on IS across Syria and Iraq, and it seemed to have an impact in Kobani where IS forces were pressed back.

A concert was held at Didim’s new Town Square on Tuesday, but that was slightly overshadowed by reports of up to 400 people joining a demonstration which briefly stopped traffic on Ataturk Boulevard.

The demonstrators voiced their opinions against IS, while police took extensive security measures to ensure the event did not get out of hand.

Meanwhile, demonstrations across Turkey were not so peaceful, with Turkish authorities confirming that 22 people had died in violent protests on October 7 in a number of Turkish cities in response to the situation in Kobani.

Further protests took place on 8 October, but these were concentrated in Turkey’s south eastern provinces, but there were clashes between protesters and police in Istanbul, including around Taksim Square, and Izmir.

The British Foreign Office issued new advice to expats and tourists in Turkey in light of the demonstrations.

On its website, it advised: “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to the towns of Akḉakale and Ceylanpinar and against all but essential travel to areas within 10km of Turkey’s border with Syria.

“The FCO advise against all but essential travel to the provinces of Hakkari, Sirnak, Siirt and Tunceli. You should be especially vigilant when travelling in other provinces in south eastern Turkey and in areas close to the Syrian border.

“You should remain vigilant and avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place. Over 2,500,000 British nationals visit Turkey every year. Most visits are trouble-free.”