20 Injured in New Hong Kong Protest Violence

Dozen of police  with shields  and helmets  pushed  into a crowed of  protesters gathered at barricades in the northern district of Mongkok,stricking  at them repeatedly with batons .Some of demonstrators  had to be carried away on stretchers and others  treatwd for  head wounded.

However  protesters said they had done  nothing to provoke  officers . the city's government information service  said 20 people involved in protest activities had been injured  .

Hong Kong has been rocked by  rallies ,which at times have drawn tens of thousand of people to three  main  protest site in the city--the second  largest  which  is Mongkok.Some  injured protesters were taken  nearbykong Wah  Hospital ,
where activities  told AFP at least  10 or more  were being  treated  for injuries  in their legs.

Police  have previously  defended their  actions  as restrained  in the face of  protesters determined
to reoccupy  areas of the city.
Accusations that the police  are being used as a political tool have dogged  the highly respected force
which has a reputation across  Asia for honest  and impartial policing.

Many residents have become increasingly frustrated  over the disruption  caused  by the protests.The  crowds of protesters have shrunk dramatically from their peak of tens of thousands earlier  in the  month'The mass  rally are one of the biggest challenge  to Beijing 's authority since the Tiananmen
pro-democracy protests of 1989.