Hong Kong universities become battlefields as pro-democracy protests continue

Riot police in Hong Kong batted with the pro-democracy protestors at different varsity campuses and brought to a halt the city's upscale business hub on November 12. It is considered to be one of the most violent phases of unrest seen in more than five months of widespread protests. The recent violence sparked since Monday when a police officer shot a protestor on Monday and a man was set on fire in the neighbouring district. The universities present in the city emerged as battlefields throughout Tuesday, November 12 with sustained clashes at major campuses for the first time. The main violence erupted from the Chinese University of Hong Kong where the usual grounds were turned into a battlefield.

READ: Police Raise Security Around Hong Kong After Night Clashes

Clash between police and protestor

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds of protestors who encroached the road with barricades resulting in an hour-long stand-off between both sides. The protestors pelted brick and petrol bombs where a vehicle that was used for barricading was set ablaze. After a short pause in which faculty staff tried to mediate, new clashes broke out in the evening with flames liberating up the sky and fresh rounds of tear gas were fired by police to disperse the crowd. They also used a water cannon truck to disperse the violent crowd but they stayed behind their makeshift shield walls. Smaller clashes were also reported on at least three other university campuses throughout the day.

READ: Hong Kong Protesters Vandalize An Escalator

Lawmakers condemn police actions

The chaotic scenes of the explosion, gun fires, smoke plumes left scores of students injured. The police said the protestors hurled debris and petrol bombs in a nearby highway linking the Northern New Territories with Kowloon, bringing traffic to a halt in a haze of tear gas smoke. The lawmakers of the city condemned the actions of the police and said that the continuous firing of tear gas has turned the university campus into a battlefield. Tensions initially escalated due to the death of a young man who fell from a multi-story car parking during the clashes with the police.

READ: Hong Kong Police Fires Tear Gas At Protestors

READ: Hong Kong: Fresh Clashes Break Out Between Police, Protesters