Hong Kong Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters Near Polytechnic University - Reports

Hong Kong Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters Near Polytechnic University - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2019) The Hong Kong police have used tear gas against the protesters in response to them attacking people attempting to clear roadblocks near the city's Polytechnic University, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported on Sunday.

The city is currently suffering a transportation collapse with the protesters blocking roads, tunnels, and bridges.

Earlier in the day, a group of approximately 100 masked people, predominantly middle-aged, came to clear the roadblocks at the intersection near the university, according to the news outlet.

The protesters tried to drive them away with force. Soon the police arrived telling the people who were trying to clear the barricades to leave. After they began leaving, the law enforcement officers fired a few rounds of tear gas at the protesters, who responded with bricks and petrol bombs.

The mass protests began in China's special administrative region in early June as a reaction to a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed people to be extradited to the mainland. The protests eventually escalated into violent confrontations between demonstrators and the police.