DAMASCUS -- Syria's Foreign Ministry on Sunday urged its nationals to avoid traveling to Turkey due to the " deterioration of security situation in some Turkish cities."

In a statement, the ministry blamed the "violence that the government of (Turkish) Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan has practiced against peaceful protesters" for the deterioration.

The demonstrations erupted in the Turkish city of Istanbul and then spilled over into several other cities in the country over the past five days. The protests called for saving a city center park in Istanbul from shopping-center developers who had been backed by the government.

Turkey's Interior Minister Muammer Guler announced Saturday evening that nearly 939 people had been detained during the protests sweeping the country.

Earlier, Erdogan, who has been facing the biggest challenge during his 10-year rule, called on demonstrators to end their protest, saying the government would press ahead with the redevelopment plans about Gezi Park that sparked the demonstrations.