Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Turkey's capital Ankara Saturday in protest against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, which has been rocked by a vast corruption probe.

As Erdogan arrived home after a week-long tour to Asia, about 20,000 protesters gathered at Ankara's major Sihhiye Square, chanting "revolution will clean this filth" and "they are thieves".

The deepening corruption scandal shaking Turkey's political establishment seems to have pitted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan against his longtime political ally President Abdullah Gul, observers say.

Although the two leaders have never openly positioned themselves against each other, they now seem to have trouble concealing the discord between them over the role of the judiciary in the high-profile graft probe that poses the most serious challenge to Erdogan's 11 years in power.

Turkey's top judicial body hit back Friday at government's plans to curb its powers, adding fuel to a bitter row over a vast corruption probe engulfing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The parliament began on Friday to debate the proposed reforms, which would give the justice ministry more powers to decide who makes up the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and strip the legal body of its powers to pass decrees.

Nearly 500 people, among them at least 85 civilians, have been killed in a week of fighting pitting Syrian rebels against jihadists in the north of the strife-torn country.

The fighting raged as Western governments that back the revolt against President Bashar Assad prepared to intensify pressure on the opposition to participate in peace talks with the regime planned for later this month.

Malaysia and Turkey pledged Friday to wrap up a free-trade deal this year as embattled Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepared to return home to a political crisis.

Erdogan met with his host, Malaysian premier Najib Razak, on the final day of a week-long trip that earlier took him to Japan and Singapore.

The United States is watching with concern a deepening political crisis unfolding in its key ally Turkey, and has voiced its disquiet to Turkish leaders, a U.S. official said Thursday.

"In our conversations with all stakeholders in Turkey, we continue to make clear that the United States supports the desire of the Turkish people for a legal system that meets the highest standards of fairness, timeliness and transparency," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

Voter support for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has slipped amid a corruption scandal engulfing close allies to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a poll published Thursday showed.

The survey by the Sonar Institute indicated a two percentage point dip in voting intentions for the AKP if legislative elections were to be held right now, compared to polling a month ago.

Turkish police on Thursday fired tear gas and plastic bullets at hundreds of demonstrators marching to the French consulate demanding justice for three female Kurdish rebels killed a year ago in Paris.

Between 500 to 600 Kurdish protesters had gathered in front of Istanbul's Galatasaray High School, shouting "We want justice" for the three victims. The motives of the triple killing remain unclear.

The Turkish government has moved to impose strict controls on the Internet by monitoring the activities of online users and blocking certain keywords, a parliamentary source said on Thursday.

The proposals are contained in a bill submitted to parliament by Turkey's family and social policy ministry and are the latest in a string of government moves testing freedom of expression in the aspiring EU member state.

Turkey has moved to curb the powers of the country's top independent judicial body, triggering concern Wednesday from Europe's top human rights watchdog.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) submitted a bill Tuesday seeking constitutional amendments to restructure the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), the latest twist in the political crisis rocking Turkey.