Erdogan bodyguards 'will not step onto German soil' for G20 summit

Germany said on Monday it does not expect Turkish security and police officers who were charged with assault after an attack on protesters in Washington to accompany Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to next week's G20 summit in Hamburg.

"I have reason to expect that these people, who have been incriminated by the American criminal justice [system] will not step onto German soil in the foreseeable future, including during the G20 summit," said foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer on Monday.

A German official told the Turkish delegation to not bring those security agents, according to a report in the German paper Die Welt.

German news publications earlier reported that Erodgan was expected to bring 50 people to the summit, including those security personnel involved in the US brawls.

Last month, the US said it was voicing its "strongest possible" concern to Turkey over a street brawl that erupted between protesters and Turkish security personnel during President Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Washington.

Police said the fighting outside the Turkish ambassador's residence last month injured 11 people, including a Washington police officer, and led to two arrests for assault.

"We are communicating our concern to the Turkish government in the strongest possible terms," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

The city of Washington, DC, also condemned the "brutal attack on peaceful protesters".

A video posted online showed men in dark suits chasing anti-government protesters and punching and kicking them as police intervened. Two men were bloodied from head wounds as bystanders assisted dazed protesters.

Witnesses said members of Erdogan's security detail pushed past Washington police outside the ambassador's residence and attacked a group of supporters of a Kurdish organisation.

The clashes continued despite police attempts to restore order, with some protesters, including women, knocked to the ground before being kicked and punched.

Other videos also showed bloodied protesters on the ground.