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Germanys Foreign Ministry has warned the bodyguards of Turkish President Recep Erdogan not to attend the upcoming G-20 summit in Hamburg, after last month they assaulted protesters in Washington, D.C.

In May, during Turkish President Recep Erdogans visit to the US capital for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump, his bodyguards managed to push past US police, and attack a group of Kurdish protesters in front of the residence of the Turkish Ambassador in Washington.

A video published by the Turkish-language service of the Voice of America (VOA) captured the skirmish in which a group of men in suits punch and kick protesters while the US police struggled to contain the outbreak of violence.

The incident led the city of Washington to condemned a brutal attack on peaceful protesters by Recep Erdogans bodyguards, and the US State Department expressed concern to Turkey in the strongest possible terms.

Following the incident, the US authoritiesannounced arrest warrants had been issued for 12 members of Erdogans security detail,includingnine security guards and three police officers.

Turkeys Foreign Ministry counterattacked by formally protesting with the US ambassador for the aggressive actions of US security personnel.

It also criticized the inability of US authorities to take sufficient precautions at every stage of the official program and demanded a full investigation of the incident.

Last year Erdogans bodyguards attacked reporters outside the Brookings Institution in a similar incident.

Germanys warning for Erdogans security personnel comes against the backdrop of a long-standing diplomatic conflict with Turkey fueled by a wide range of issues.

A handout photo made available by the Turkish President Press office on 25 June 2017 shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2-L) waving to supporters after offering Eid al-Ramadan prayers at the Mimar Sinan Mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey, 25 June 2017. Photo: Turkish Presidency/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

Renowned for Clashes

The German Foreign Ministry warned Turkishbodyguards involved in violent scuffles in Washington last month not to attend the G-20 summit on July 7-8, German media reported, as cited by state-run media DW.

German officials are preparing for violence at the G-20 forum not just from protesters but also from the Turkish Presidents bodyguards which are renowned for clashing with activists, DW states.

Thewarnings were then repeated to members of the Bundestag, i.e. the German Parliament, in closed-door meetings, German newspaper Die Welt reported.

Germanys Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said earlier that foreign powers did not hold sovereign powers, saying foreign colleagues only have the right to self-defense.

On our streets, only the Hamburg police have a say and no one else. This includes foreign security forces, Hamburg Senator Andy Grote told Die Welt.

The Turkish Embassy in Berlin sent the Foreign Ministry a list of 50 people who were to accompany Erdogan to Hamburg, local daily Hamburger Abendblatt reported.

The list reportedly included several agents who were involved in an incident inWashington last month.

Left-Wing & Kurdish Protests

More than 10,000 far-leftactivi are expected to descend on Hamburg for the G20 Summit being held on July 7 and July 8.

Hamburg is already a hotbed of left-wing activism and cars have been regularly torchedin the lead up to the summit, DW notes.

Adding to the possibility of potential violence is the large Kurdish presence in the city, many of whom support the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). Several thousand well-organized Turkish right-wing extremists such as the Ulkucu (Gray Wolves) movement reportedly operate in Germany as well.

The Kurdish scene is highly hierarchical, and does not need a long lead time to mobilize, a senior security official told Hamburger Abendblatt.

Germanys domestic intelligence agency (BfV) told Die Welt that street battles between Kurds and nationalist Turks could easily erupt.

New Lows in German-Turkish Ties

Relations between Germany and Turkey keep sinking to new lows as Turkish President Recep Erdogan and the Turkish Cabinet continue to implement measures deemed in the West as undemocratic, and do not hesitate to use Nazi slurs against Germany and other Western European countries such as the Netherlands and Austria.

In June 2016, Turkey banned a German MP delegation from visiting the German troops in Incirlik in response to the German governments decision to recognize the killing of around 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1917as genocide, known as the Armenian Genocide.

Although the Armenian Genocide crisis died down in the following months, tensions between Germany and Turkey have remained high. They flared up again before Turkeys presidential republic referendum on April 16, which Erdogan and his party AKP won with a very narrow majority, with the Turkish opposition disputing the results, and international observers finding numerous violations.

Before the referendum, several German local authorities banned Erdogans government ministers from campaign among Turkish expats in Germany which caused outrage in Ankara and led the Turkish President to insult the Germans with references to Nazism.

A number of German lawmakers have also been outraged at what they see as flagrant repression of freedoms during Erdogans crackdown on civil servants and the media following the failed July 2016 coup attempted by the Turkish military.

Dozens of journalistshave been imprisoned in Turkey, including Turkish-German correspondent of a leading German newspaper, Deniz Yucel.

Turkey recently said it was going to stop teaching evolution in high schools, and will scale down the teaching of the legacy of secularism of its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In another development, Istanbuls gay pride march was prevented for a third year in a row.

German Chancellor Merkel has ruled out allowing Turks in Germany to vote in a potential Turkish referendum on reintroducing the death penalty. Turkeys bid to join the EU appears to have ground to a halt precisely because of Erdogans controversial policies and moves.

A German press recently report alleged crucial European members of NATO such as Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands as well as North American member Canada were working to block Turkey from hosting the 2018 NATO Summit.

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Germany Tells Erdogan to Keep Bodyguards Out of Hamburg G-20 Summit in Wake of Skirmish in Washington Report - Intelligencer Post