Rockers 30 Seconds To Mars have axed an upcoming concert in Turkey amid ongoing political unrest in the country.

Protesters have been battling local authorities in Istanbul's Taksim Square since last week (begs03Jun13), when cops tried to forcibly move peaceful demonstrators camped there to halt a planned redevelopment of the area.

The Square has since become the site of more violent clashes between riot police and thousands of political activists expressing their growing dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government, and the increasing civil protests have prompted singer/actor Jared Leto and his bandmates to scrap a planned gig in Istanbul on 30 June (13).

A post on their Twitter.com page reads: "Due to the political unrest, our show in Turkey has been cancelled. We fully support the people fighting for their freedom + we will return."