Georgia: Clashes outside parliament on third protest night

Georgians protesting the government's determination to hold European Union rank talks clashed with information forces extracurricular parliament successful the superior Tbilisi connected Saturday evening.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets for the 3rd nighttime successful a row. The protests, which person seen implicit a hundred arrested, have been the biggest since the ruling Georgian Dream enactment claimed victory successful October's contested parliamentary elections.

What happened astatine the protests?

Police fired teardrop gas, rubber bullets and utilized h2o cannons successful an effort to disperse the rallies. Protesters extracurricular parliament utilized fireworks, with flames reportedly seen coming retired of a parliament gathering window.

Some of the protesters acceptable up barricades connected Tbilisi's main avenue. Others connected the steps of parliament burned an effigy of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Dream party's laminitis and Georgia's richest man.

"I americium acrophobic -- I won't fell it -- that galore radical volition get injured, but I americium not acrophobic to basal here," 39-year-old Tamar Gelashvili told the French AFP quality bureau adjacent the parliament gathering earlier successful the day.

The Interior Ministry said that "the actions of immoderate individuals contiguous astatine the protestation became convulsive soon aft the objection began."

"Police volition respond appropriately and successful accordance with the instrumentality to each violation," it said.

Police utilized teardrop gas, h2o cannons and rubber bullets to disperse the protestsImage: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP Photo/pictiure alliance

Protests besides took spot successful assorted different cities crossed Georgia.

Earlier connected Saturday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had accused the pro-EU absorption of plotting a revolution, portion the State Security Service said governmental parties were trying to "overthrow the authorities by force."

EU rank is simply a highly fashionable extremity successful the erstwhile Soviet republic. Tbilisi is flooded with EU flags, often placed by residents astatine their ain windows.

"The radical of Georgia are trying to support their constitution, trying to support their state and the state, and they are trying to archer our authorities that regularisation of instrumentality means everything," protester Tina Kupreishvili told the Reuters quality bureau extracurricular parliament.

rmt/wd (AFP, Reuters)