Anarchists confront police outside US embassy in Greece

Greek riot police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators marching to the US embassy in Athens on Nov. 17. At least 10 people were injured and dozens detained. A Reuters reporter saw one man carried into an ambulance after clashes between police in full riot gear who fired several rounds of tear gas at about 200 protesters hurling stones, bottles and flares. Police said that more than 50 people were detained. The clashes came during a rally by about 15,000 demonstrators marching to the US embassy to commemorate a 1973 student revolt against the then ruling military junta. Rioters confronted police near the prime minister's official residence as others marched around the embassy, authorities said. The protesters waved anti-US banners and chanted "Bush the butcher, out of Iraq" and "The USA is the real terrorist." More than 8,000 police plus plain-clothed and intelligence officers were posted around the city for the annual events to mark Nov. 17, the day in 1973 when the military junta sent tanks to put down a revolt at Athens Polytechnic. The events that night are generally considered to mark the beginning of the end of the junta that ruled Greece from 1967-1974. Hundreds of riot police secured the roads around the Polytechnic campus as helicopters hovered overhead. Athens has also been crippled by weeks-long strikes and rallies by state school teachers demanding pay raises and temporary civil servants protesting for permanent jobs. The anniversary of the student revolt, which concludes with a march to the US embassy to protest Washington's support for the junta, has been marked by extensive violence in the past. Street battles between anarchists and police in Athens take place around this time every year. One week prior to this year's march, a group of about 15 unidentified men charged into an office in central Athens which belonged to the Finance Ministry, and set fire to the building. The culprits, believed to belong to anarchist groups, used crowbars to smash the front entrance of the building before making their way to the first and second floors where the ministry's offices are located. Police said they then set homemade explosive devices, which went off, causing a fire and damaging a stairwell area. Firefighters put out the blaze before it managed to spread, police said. Greek anarchist groups also carried out arson attacks on four bank branches in Athens on Nov. 15. Household gas canisters were set alight at the entrances to the banks, causing considerable damage, according to reports. The night before, a police officer was reportedly seriously injured in a clash between police and anarchists in Athens. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds who threw Molotov cocktails at the officers.