Update 4 - Protesters Try To Retake Hk Protest Site

Chaotic scenes broke out at a Hong Kong protest site late Friday as thousands of demonstrators tried to retake areas cleared in the morning.



An Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene reported that hundreds of police holding riot shields and plastic handcuffs had blockaded the end of the Mong Kok area of Nathan Road - which until earlier in the day had been occupied by protesters for almost three weeks. 



One police officer - who gave his name as Paul Edmiston - told the Anadolu Agency that the police were ready should the protesters try and advance.



"I've told my boys to be tough if they [the protesters] come onto the road," he said. 



The Hong Kong police force is predominantly Chinese in origin, but a few officers of British descent remain from the days of London rule.    



In a sudden surge around 19.30 local time (14.30 Turkish time), a crowd of protesters charged the police line, only to be forced back amid the sound of shouting and screaming.



With the police line unbroken, officers advanced around 50 meters from their original position for the standoff to continue.



The AA correspondent was asked to leave the scene.



Hours later - back at the site - the correspondent said that the toing and froing was continuing, but the hundreds of police officers were now using tear gas, truncheons and shields to keep protesters from reclaiming the site.



He said that ambulances were at the scene and he had seen around ten people arrested.



Some protesters were pretending to be pedestrians who had lost coins, he added, frantically looking on the ground for them to avoid being moved on - only to disperse under force.



The chaos is ongoing, he said.



Earlier Friday, hundreds of police had cleared the barriers in a 35-minute dawn operation, using chainsaws to break up most barricades, many of which were constructed from wooden pallets.



Pro-democracy protesters had occupied the intersection of Nathan Road and Argyle Street in Mong Kok for almost three weeks. But they resorted to occupying just the southbound lane of one of the roads of the intersection after the barriers were cleared. 



Mong Kok had been the scene of scuffles between protesters and opposition groups during the almost three weeks of rallies. 



The Occupy Central movement condemned the government for a "lack of sincerity" after police tore down the barriers in the early morning raid, saying it would only create obstacles for forthcoming talks.



"Police removed barricades in Mong Kok 15 hours after [chief executive] Leung Chun-ying said engaging in dialogue didn't mean the government would not clear the protest sites. We think it amounts to an open insult to the intelligence of Hong Kong people," it said in a statement.



Protesters still occupy the main Admiralty site, 'though in dwindling numbers'.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Hong Kong