Fires in Athens' streets after violent protests

(15 Nov 2016) Demonstrators set bins on fire in the streets of Athens on Tuesday evening as they engaged in running street fights with police near the city's Polytechnic university.
The clashes erupted after riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse about 3,000 left-wing marchers protesting US President Barack Obama's visit to Greece.
The violence broke out as youths in motorcycle helmets and gas masks, armed with wooden clubs and petrol bombs, tried to break a police cordon in front of a barrier formed by police buses.
There is a strong anti-American tradition among Greek left-wingers, who still resent US support for Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship.
Obama's visit comes just two days before the country's main annual anti-American demonstrations.
These protests commemorate the bloody suppression, by military authorities, of the Polytechnic pro-democracy uprising.
Obama is attending a state dinner hosted by Greece's president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, in the ballroom of the presidential mansion in central Athens on Tuesday evening.


Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...