Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was preparing to return on Thursday to a nation in the grip of protests against his rule.

More protests like these in Ankara ran on into the early hours as Erdogan's official visit to North Africa was drawing to a close.

He left on Monday in a defiant mood, dismissing the protesters as looters.

They in turn are demanding an apology over the police crackdown against the protests, and the sacking of those who ordered it.

They've also demanded his resignation before his expected return.

Protesters camped out in Istanbul early on Thursday were among those awaiting Erdogan's response.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROTESTER, DOGAN KALYONCU, SAYING:

"Everybody is waiting for good things. But we don't know. "

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROTESTER AND STUDENT, SANEM BARIS UNSAL, SAYING:

"Of course this protest is about this park and our freedom and our personal spaces but it is also about his dictatorship and we want