ISTANBUL — Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse anti-government protesters in several Turkish cities overnight Monday, as demonstrations against the Islamic-rooted Cabinet simmered across the country, media reported.

In Istanbul's Kadikoy district, which has become the focal point of the demonstrations, hundreds of protesters set up barricades, which they then set on fire, according to NTV television.

Earlier, several thousand people had gathered in Kadikoy for open-air concerts, the Dogan press agency reported, adding that police detained around a dozen people.

One of those detained was a journalist with the IMC opposition television channel, according to an AFP photographer.

Clashes also took place in an outlying area of the capital Ankara, according to Dogan, and in the southern town of Antakya, where the death of a demonstrator, Ahmet Atakan, a week ago in clashes with police had sparked the resurgence of unrest throughout Turkey.

The 22-year-old's family claim he was killed by a projectile fired by police, something denied by the government.

At least six people have died in protests since demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seen as increasingly authoritarian, began in June.