The Turkish parliament has descended into fresh chaos with lawmakers exchanging punches for a second time over a controversial bill to boost police powers against protesters.
Ruling party and opposition lawmakers engaged in fisticuffs while one MP even fell down the stairs as parliament was about to begin a debate on the so-called homeland security bill, the private Dogan news agency reported.
The unruly scenes mirrored those seen in the parliament overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday, when five deputies were left injured - including two who suffered head injuries inflicted by a ceremonial gavel.
Opposition parties, strongly opposed to the government-driven bill, earlier this week vowed to stop the draft text from coming to the parliament floor by resorting to delaying tactics such as presenting motions on unrelated subjects.
Turkey's opposition fears the bill, introduced by the ruling Justice and Development party government, will effectively create a police state under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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