Turkey in mourning after blast

Turkey is beginning three days of mourning after two blasts at a peace rally in the capital Ankara killed at least 95 people on Saturday, the deadliest ever such attack in Turkey.

The attack left 245 people injured, with 48 of them in a serious condition.

TV footage showed scenes of panic and people lying on the ground covered in blood, amid protest banners.

Protesters gathered in Istanbul in the aftermath of the attack - these placards read "killer state". Photo: AFP

The government called the blasts a "terrorist act" and angrily rejected allegations that it was to blame.

Late on Saturday, US President Barack Obama spoke to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and "conveyed his deepest personal sympathies for those killed and injured in these heinous attacks," the White House said.

Anti-violence rally

The blasts took place near the city's central train station as people gathered for a march organised by leftist groups.

The rally was demanding an end to the violence between the Kurdish separatist PKK militants and the Turkish government, and had been due to start at 12:00 (09:00 GMT).

The two explosions happened shortly after 10:00 as crowds gathered ahead of the rally. Amateur video footage showed a group of young people holding hands and singing, before the first blast

Just after 10:00, there was a powerful explosion, quickly followed by another blast outside the city's train station.. Photo: AFP

Eyewitnesses described anger amongst the crowd being directed against the police after the blasts. One participant at the rally told the BBC that the police used tear gas "as soon as the bomb went off", and "would not let ambulances through".

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there was evidence that two suicide bombers had carried out the attack, which comes three weeks before a re-run of June's inconclusive parliamentary elections.

President Erdogan called the attack "loathsome". He has cancelled a planned visit to Turkmenistan.

The pro-Kurdish HDP party was among those attending the rally. Its leader Selahettin Demirtas has blamed the state for the attack and has cancelled all election rallies.

The bodies of those who died were covered in flags that were to be taken to the rally. Photo: AP

Demirtas condemned the government as "murderers" and said it had blood on its hands.

The party has previously blamed the government for colluding in attacks on Kurdish activists, which the government denies.

Cemalettin Hasimi, director of press and information at the prime minister's office, told the BBC that such allegations were "a disgrace, unacceptable". He insisted that authorities were determined to find those behind the attack.

An HDP rally in the city of 

A sit-down demonstration was later held to protest about the explosions.Photo:Reuters

Diyarbakir was bombed in June, ahead of general elections in which the party entered parliament for the first time.

In July, a suicide bombing by suspected Islamic State militants on a gathering of socialist youth activists in the town of Suruc on the Syrian border killed at least 30 people.

A ceasefire between the Kurdish militant group the PKK and Turkey's government later broke down, with the PKK accusing the security forces of collaborating with IS.

This led to an increase in attacks from both sides over the summer.

On Saturday the PKK called on its fighters to halt its guerrilla activities in Turkey unless attacked first. A statement from an umbrella group that includes the PKK said its forces would "make no attempts to hinder or harm the exercise of a fair and equal election".