Thousands clash with police during the funeral of a young boy in Turkey (PHOTOS)

Thomson Reuters — Riot police clashed with demonstrators in several Turkish cities for a second day on Wednesday as mourners buried a teenager wounded in protests last summer, unrest which a defiant Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan cast as a plot against the state.

Police fired water cannon, tear gas and rubber pellets on a major Istanbul avenue to stop tens of thousands of people chanting anti-government slogans from reaching the central Taksim square. There were similar scenes in the center of the capital Ankara and in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.

The death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan on Tuesday after nine months in a coma touched off the worst unrest in Turkey since the nationwide anti-government demonstrations last June, adding to Erdogan's woes as he battles a graft scandal that has become one of the biggest challenges of his decade in power.

Warning: Some readers may find the photos below disturbing.