Erdogan Vows to Seek Peace with Kurds 'until Last Breath'

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday vowed to press on with efforts to make peace with Turkey's Kurds despite deadly pro-Kurdish protests, saying he would work for an agreement until "my last breath".

Protests by pro-Kurdish demonstrators angry at the government's policy on Syria have left 31 dead in Turkey and raised fears that the fragile peace process with Kurdish rebels could be derailed.

"I have risked my own neck in the peace process," Erdogan said in a speech in the Black Sea city of Trabzon.

"I have put my mind and heart to it. And I will keep fighting for it until my last breath. Because I know that this nation is standing behind us," he added in the televised speech.

He said the standoff between Kurdish fighters and Islamist extremists in the Syrian town of Kobane was being used as a pretext by those who wanted to damage the peace process back in Turkey.

"But Turkey is not a country which will shape its domestic and foreign policy based on the violent actions of thugs and terrorist," he said.

"Turkey is not a country which will change its course fearing street protests," he said.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has battled the Turkish military in an insurgency seeking self rule that has left some 40,000 people dead since 1984.

But it has largely observed a ceasefire since March 2013 and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has kept up contacts with Kurdish politicians even amid the protests.

At least 31 people have been killed and 360 others injured in four days of violent protests in Turkey led by pro-Kurdish demonstrators against the government's policy on Syria, the interior minister said Friday.

In addition to the toll of 31 people killed in protests, two policemen were shot dead in the southern city of Bingol late Thursday while inspecting the scene of a demonstration, Interior Minister Efkan Ala told reporters.

Five "terrorists" suspected of gunning them down were themselves killed by the security forces, he confirmed.

"This spiral of violence should immediately be stopped," he said in a statement.

"Everyone should do their part to put an end to these incidents. We should all stand in solidarity with each other."

Ala said that clashes broke out in 35 cities and 221 civilians and 139 security officials including police were wounded. 

Over 1,000 people were detained and 58 people have formally been placed under arrest for their involvement in the protests which caused damage to 212 schools, he said.

The violence, which has been concentrated in south-eastern Turkey but also flared in Istanbul and Ankara, has been among the worst rioting seen in the country in years. 

The official toll has already well exceeded the number of eight people confirmed to have been killed in the May-June 2103 nationwide protests against the ruling party.