In Turkey, thousands of students and workers staged a massive demonstration in Istanbul during the funeral on Friday (17 March) of four students who were among the victims of the bomb and machine-gun attack on the city's university the day before.

SYNOPSIS: Troops and police sealed off a large part of the city in their search for the gunmen responsible for the attack. All traffic coming into the city is being checked. Six students, all said to be left-wing supporters, died in the raid and more than 40 were injured. It brings the death toll in acts of political violence in Turkey this year to 80, and is the most serious since Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit came to power two months ago. After the attack, the University senate said it had decided to close down the institution to prevent further bloodshed among its 25,000 students.

The coffins were carried through the streets by fellow students while thousands more lined the route. Riot police, heavily armed, kept a close watch on the demonstration, but there were no incidents. At the same time, there was a demonstration in the capital, Ankara, where students boycotted classes in protest against the attack. The Minister of the Interior, Mr. Irfan Ozaydinli flew to Istanbul for emergency talks with police and military authorities responsible for internal security.

Prime Minister Ecevit has promised action against the extremists and has appealed for calm. He told students not to be carried away "by the intrigues of those who want to foster animosity". The attack on the university was one of three acts of violence in Istanbul that day -- earlier a schoolboy was killed, and a police officer shot and seriously wounded.