Turkish police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of pro-secular protesters at a banned rally Monday in the capital, Ankara.

Police were responding to protesters trying to break through security barricades. After the clashes, police allowed the protesters to continue marching.

Officials had initially denied permission for the Republic Day rally, but thousands of people still gathered in the streets, waving flags and chanting slogans.

The holiday marks the founding of Turkey's secular republic. In recent years, the day's celebrations have become a symbol of the divide between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-leaning government and the secular opposition.