Riot police on Wednesday clashed briefly with groups of anti-government protesters in two Turkish cities, but there was no fresh unrest in Istanbul where demonstrators switched to silent protests after a heavy crackdown.

A day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory over the mass demos that have defied his authority for nearly three weeks, several dozen protesters held a quiet vigil on Istanbul's Taksim Square, standing still and silent in the midday heat.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she was shocked by Turkey's violent crackdown on protests in major cities, saying it "was much too harsh".

"There were horrible images in which one could see that the approach was much too harsh in my view," Merkel told commercial broadcaster RTL in reaction to news coverage of riot police breaking up demonstrations in Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

Representatives from countries that support the Syrian opposition met Friday in Istanbul with rebel military chief General Selim Idriss, to discuss the possible delivery of weapons, a Syrian opposition spokesman said.

"Over the next 24 to 48 hours, there are going to be several meetings between the Syrian Military Council (SMC) and different countries to understand the needs of the SMC and to begin to really satisfy those needs," said Khaled Saleh, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Council.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday agreed to halt plans to redevelop an Istanbul park at the center of two weeks of mass anti-government unrest, in a move protesters welcomed as "positive."

It marked the first easing of tensions in the standoff, which has presented the Islamist-rooted government with the biggest challenge of its decade-long rule and earned it criticism from the West.

Turkish protesters said Thursday they would remain in Istanbul's Gezi Park despite a "last warning" by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to evacuate the green patch at the center of deadly anti-government unrest.

"We will stay in Gezi Park with all our demands and sleeping bags," Taksim Solidarity, the core group behind the campaign to save the park, said in a statement, rejecting the government's proposal to hold a referendum on the site's controversial redevelopment.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Wednesday said images of demonstrators in Istanbul being chased down by riot police were "disturbing" and warned that the Turkish government was sending the "wrong message".

Reacting after Turkish security forces retook control of Taksim Square, the flashpoint of nationwide unrest, Westerwelle urged Ankara to respect the rights of free speech and assembly.

An uneasy calm returned to Istanbul's protest square early Wednesday after running clashes between riot police and protesters, as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed zero tolerance for the mass demos.

Hours earlier, Taksim Square had resembled a battle scene, swathed in acrid smoke as police dispersed tens of thousands of protesters chanting "Erdogan, resign!" and "Resistance!" on the worst night of violence in 12 days of nationwide unrest.

A small Istanbul park whose conservation fight sparked mass protests will not be turned into a shopping mall, the city's mayor assured protesters Friday, but insisted the site's controversial redevelopment would go ahead.

"We are definitely not thinking of building a shopping mall there, no hotel or residence either. It can be... a city museum or an exhibition center," Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas told reporters.

Thousands of angry Turks took to the streets on Saturday to join mass anti-government protests, defying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call to end the worst civil unrest of his decade-long rule.

From the early morning, protesters began arriving in Istanbul's Taksim Square with food and blankets to settle in for a weekend of demonstrations, adding to the growing tent city in nearby Gezi Park.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an immediate end to mass protests against his rule Friday, but urged supporters to "go home" after they staged a major show of strength welcoming him back from an overseas trip.

Waving Turkish flags and chanting "We will die for you, Erdogan" and "Let us go crush them all", supporters of the premier's Justice and Development Party (AKP) displayed their support after keeping largely silent during seven days of violent anti-government demonstrations across the country.