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Image:Police fired tear gas at demonstrators as they refused to leave the outlawed rally
Police in Hong Kong have fired tear gas at thousands of pro-democracy protesters marching in an area where 45 people were injured in suspected triad attacks at a station last weekend.
Officers in riot gear shot the gas into a crowd of demonstrators who gathered in Yuen Long in defiance of police orders and despite officers' appeals to leave.
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters stormed the area in sweltering heat on Saturday afternoon.
Police, who filmed marchers as they went, had banned the rally on safety grounds but activists said they would push ahead.
Image:Protesters marching in defiance of a police ban
Many chanted anti-police slogans such as "Nasty police!" and "Hong Kong police, they know the law, break the law".
The situation is "tense," Sky's Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire said.
"People say they won't cause trouble, but if they're hit, they will hit back hard," he said.
The march is taking place in Hong Kong's New Territories in the north of the city, where suspected triads attacked commuters and protesters last weekend.
Triads are organised criminal networks and are also known as the Chinese mafia. They usually run protection rackets, prostitution and low-level drug supply.
Many in the pro-democracy movement accuse the police of reacting slowly to the violence, while others blame local villagers they suspect of having close links to triad groups.
Image:Riot police watch as protesters gather in Yuen Long
"The situation is escalating, and (Saturday) could be the start of a more violent period," one said.
Image:Masked men in white t-shirts violently attacked pro-democracy activists and others
Last Sunday, 100 white shirted men stormed the Yuen Long station hours after protesters marched through central Hong Kong and defaced China's Liaison Office - the leading symbol of Beijing's authority over the former British colony.
They attacked black-clad protesters returning from Hong Kong island, passers-by, journalists and lawmakers with pipes and clubs, leaving 45 people injured.
Image:Protesters marching in defiance of a police ban
Cico Lau, 25, whose brother was among those beaten last Sunday, said: "I come out as I want to express my dissatisfaction with police. What had happened last week was totally unacceptable."
The demonstrations were initially triggered by a bill, since abandoned, that would allow extraditions to mainland China.
Image:Protesters gathered to march against gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators last weekend
But they have become a referendum on the Hong Kong government and the eroding of the city's freedoms under Beijing's control.
Protesters are also demanding independent inquiries into police use of force, the resignation of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and full democratic reform.
Image:Protesters massed in Hong Kong Airport on Friday.
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