Police have clashed with pro-democracy protesters at Hong
Kong's international airport after flights were disrupted for a second day
running amid a deepening political crisis in the financial hub following weeks
of mass demonstrations.
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| protesters are pepper sprayed |
A mostly peaceful sit-in on Tuesday that saw thousands of
black-clad protesters jamming the main terminal - some chanting, singing and
waving banners - erupted into violence in the evening, with riot police firing
pepper spray and using batons after demonstrators seized a man they claimed was
an undercover mainland Chinese agent.
The scuffles broke out after police appeared at the
departures entrance in an apparent attempt to help paramedics reach the man,
who was injured. Several police vehicles were blocked by protesters and riot
police moved in, pushing some protesters back and using pepper spray. At one
point, a police officer pulled out a gun.
Protesters also barricaded some passageways in the airport
with luggage trolleys, metal barriers and other objects. At least two
protesters were taken away by police.
Separately, a reporter for the Global Times newspaper, a
Communist Party mouthpiece which has sharply criticised the demonstrations, was
also held by protesters. Footage showed the reporter's hands being tied to a
luggage car.
"GT reporter Fu Guohao has been rescued by police and
sent to the hospital. We're still learning about his injury conditions",
Hu Xijin, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, later said in a tweet.
The protest on Tuesday prompted the cancellation of
hundreds of flights for a second consecutive day, with Hong Kong's Airport
Authority said operations at the airport had been "seriously
disrupted" and that departing passengers had been unable to reach immigration
counters.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from the airport
later on Tuesday, said calm had returned following the departure of most
protesters from the site.
"We've seen some of the employees come back to their
counters, and some of the stranded passengers trying to figure out when they
will be able to catch their flights," she said. "It's not clear
whether the protesters will come back tomorrow."
Meanwhile, citing United States intelligence, President
Donald Trump said later on Tuesday that China's government was moving troops to
its border with Hong Kong.
It was not immediately clear if Trump, who also urged calm
between protesters and the authorities, was reporting fresh movements or
movements near the border already reported in the media.
"Our intelligence has informed us that the Chinese
Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be
calm and safe!" he tweeted. Aljazeera
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