Greek police fired tear gas as anti-Iraq war protesters hurled Molotov cocktails in confrontations in central Athens yesterday, several hundred metres from where an EU summit was in progress.
Protesters also threw rocks, bottles of paint and petrol bombs at the nearby Italian, French and British embassies.
Earlier about 100 demonstrators occupied a British Airways office in an Athens suburb to protest against Britain's role in the US-led war on Iraq.
Police estimated more than 8,000 protesters were involved in riots concentrated in Syntagma Square. At least five people were injured, including a police officer and a cameraman. About 50 demonstrators were detained.
The violence broke out when a group of demonstrators tried to break through police lines to march closer to the venue where the EU's 15 leaders were meeting.
Smoke from flaming Molotov cocktails and tear gas billowed in the air as police helicopters hovered above the demonstration. Dozens of shop fronts, bus stops and dust bins were smashed and set on fire.
After being turned away from Syntagma Square, the demonstrators marched through the city's diplomatic district.
At least a dozen Molotov cocktails were thrown at the British embassy before police officers in riot gear fired teargas to disperse the crowd.
Police, who were expecting the protests, have mounted an unprecedented security operation in the city. Some 20,000 officers were on duty and key streets were blocked off.
In the British Airways protest, 100 members of the Greek Communist Party took over the second-floor offices and the roof of the building in the seaside suburb of Glyfada.
They stopped BA employees entering and said they planned to stay until they joined the main anti-war rally. Public service offices and schools are closed during the two-day summit, while parking around central Athens is prohibited and the Acropolis sealed off.
Activists including Stop the War Coalition and labour groups have planned non-stop protests against the presence of US, British and other forces in Iraq.
Greek public opinion has been virulently opposed to the invasion of Iraq and there have been regular demonstrations outside the US and British embassies. - (Reuters)