Turkish police have used tear gas against thousands of anti-government protesters in Istanbul as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to break the hands of "plotters", according to BBC News.

Clashes erupted between protesters and police in Kadikoy Square, in an echo of protests in the city earlier this year.

In a northern town Erdogan denounced people he said were setting anti-Turkish "traps" to undermine his rule.

The sons of two cabinet ministers have been charged in a big corruption probe. The investigation has led to charges against 24 people so far. They are suspected of involvement in bribery, in connection with urban development projects and the allocation of construction permits.

In Istanbul protesters chanted "everywhere is bribery, everywhere is corruption". It was an echo of the Taksim Square mass protest this summer, when opposition activists chanted "everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance".

Police on Sunday used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them in streets where protesters had set fire to makeshift barricades.

In the Black Sea town of Giresun, Erdogan told a crowd of supporters that his Islamist-rooted AK was facing a "dark plot" by forces outside Turkey who wanted to split the country apart.

"Let our friends and foes know this. Whoever dares to harm, stir up or set traps in this country, whoever tries to touch our independence, we will come to break those hands," he said.

In the summer police fought running battles with anti-AK protesters over plans to develop Gezi Park, in the heart of Istanbul.

The controversial arrests in the anti-corruption crackdown began last week when police launched dawn raids in Istanbul and Ankara.

Erdogan reacted angrily and on Thursday the head of Istanbul's police was forced from his position. More than 30 senior police officers have reportedly been sacked.

Members of Gulen's Hizmet movement are said to hold influential positions in institutions such as the police, the judiciary and the AK Party itself.