The demonstrators are asking Beijing to guarantee full democracy for the former British colony
On Monday, hundreds of people, some with masks, iron bars and cutting tools, broke down the barriers which were mounted by the pro-democracy demonstrators in the financial center of Hong Kong, fighting the protesters which have been occupying the streets for two weeks, Reuters reports.
The taxi drivers, which are opposing the protests because they are affecting their business, also marched on a barricaded street with twelve taxis, asking for the protests to stop. They have offered the protesters a deadline until Wednesday to lift their barricades.
Hundreds of policemen had previously removed some of the barricades in order to ease the congestion, but stated that the protesters can stay.
In a few hours, some groups which are opposing the protests went to the places where the demonstrators were and tried to disperse them, taking advantage of the police’s action of removing the barricades.
Immediately, clashes broke out, the first ones between the demonstrators and members of the anti-protest groups. The protesters believe that the attacks were coordinated and that Asian criminal organizations were involved, Reuters says.
The clashes occurred in the middle of a wide, occupied boulevard, after persons which were wearing surgical masks in order to avoid being identified tried to force and dismantle the barricades installed by the demonstrators in the Admiralty district, where the offices of the Ministries are located, according to AFP.
Eventually, the police separated the two groups by forming a human barricade between them. Finally, peace settled on the streets, but the residents of Hong Kong are expecting new outbreaks.
The demonstrators, led by student movements, are asking Beijing to guarantee full democracy for the former British colony.
O.C.