AP Photos: Hong Kong police using tear gas and batons fight running battles with protesters trying to break through security cordon around university
November 18, 2019, 10:23 AM
1 min read
Hong Kong police using tear gas and batons fought running battles Monday with protesters who tried to break through a security cordon that trapped hundreds of them at the city’s Polytechnic University.
Protesters advanced on the police from outside the cordon, while others emerged from the campus, their trademark umbrellas at the fore. Police used tear gas and, in some places, swooped in to subdue protesters and make arrests.
For days, protesters fortified the campus to keep police from getting in. Cornered by authorities, they were trying to get out.
Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets, while protesters used Molotov cocktails, arrows and bricks
It wasn’t clear if any of those inside escaped.
Police had stormed the campus overnight and made dozens of arrests before retreating. They are intent on talking all the protesters into detention.
The battles are part of six months of anti-government protests that have rocked the semiautonomous Chinese city.