Hong Kong police charged protesters gathered at a barricade early Sunday, leaving many requiring medical treatment just hours after the government confirmed talks aimed at ending three weeks of pro-democracy rallies.
Police in heavy riot gear rained blows on protesters in the northern district of Mongkok, with some carried off on stretchers and others treated for head wounds, fractures and bruising, according to AFP journalists and medics at the scene.
Accusations that the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's 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.
Police said in a Sunday statement they had used "minimum force" as protesters approached their cordon lines.
Hong Kong's government had confirmed Saturday it will open talks with student demonstrators on Tuesday, speaking before the fourth night of violent clashes in areas of the city paralysed by mass pro-democracy rallies.
"Right now we are planning that it will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 21," Leung's deputy Carrie Lam told reporters on Saturday.
Lam said the talks -- which will be broadcast live -- would be focused on constitutional reform, with both sides allowed to bring five members to the meeting.
But hopes of any breakthrough are slim, with the government unlikely to cede to protesters' core demands -- the resignation of embattled Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying and free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous Chinese city in 2017.
Beijing insists that candidates for the vote must be vetted by a committee expected to be loyal to China, and Leung has warned that the country's communist authorities have no intention of backing down.
Uptick in violence
Sunday's violence was indicative of a wider trend of increased force being deployed in the last few days as officers attempt to clear roads blockaded at three sites after two weeks of relative calm.
One volunteer medic said that she had seen four people with head injuries with "serious bleeding" as well as a fractured back. Another protester had collapsed unconscious with exhaustion, she said.
"One of the men with a head injury had been hit by a police baton three times," said Carla Chau, 20, a medical student volunteering at the first aid station set up at the Mongkok site.
Some injured protesters were taken to nearby Kwung Wah hospital, where activists told AFP at least 10 or more were being treated for injuries to their legs, arms and heads, including suspected fractures.
One protester said that police had reacted when a front line of demonstrators blocking a key road opened their umbrellas and rested them on the barricades.
"They hit us without any reason when we were standing behind the roadblock. I was hit by a police stick four or five times. I protected myself with my hands and they hit my body... there was blood all over my head and they took me for medical treatment," said Jackie, 30, sitting with his head bandaged and blood still on his t-shirt.
"We didn't do anything -- some people behind me opened out their umbrellas and then the police started hitting people. There was no aggressive action on our side."
Police said in a statement Sunday they had taken "resolute action by applying minimum force to disperse them to prevent the situation from deteriorating".
They said protesters had attempted to charge police cordon lines by pulling aside barriers and shoving officers, but confirmed three protesters and an officer were injured.
Police have previously defended their actions as restrained in the face of increasingly hardcore protesters determined to reoccupy areas of the city the force has attempted to clear.
But video footage emerged showing plainclothes officers beating a handcuffed protester as he lay on the ground on Wednesday, just over a fortnight after riot officers fired teargas for the first time in years at crowds of largely peaceful demonstrators.
Over the weekend pepper spray was used on protesters who retook ground that police had cleared for traffic.
The demonstrators have held sit-ins at three key intersections since September 28, causing major disruption in an Asian financial hub usually known for its stability.
No common ground
Many residents have become increasingly frustrated over the disruption caused by the protests, with road blockages causing heavy traffic jams in the city of seven million, and local companies complaining of a downturn in business.
The crowds of protesters have shrunk dramatically from their peak of tens of thousands earlier in the month.
A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed back to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal that guarantees freedoms not seen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.
But fears have been growing that these liberties are being eroded, while anger has also soared over perceived political interference from Beijing and increasing inequality in the freewheeling financial hub.
The mass rallies are one of the biggest challenges to Beijing's authority since the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests of 1989.
AFP
Sun Oct 19 2014
A pro-democracy protester who gave his name as Jackie waits at a hospital to be treated for a head injury sustained during clashes with police in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong early on October 19, 2014. - AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones
Letusan Gunung Ruang: Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia batal penerbangan Kuala Lumpur ke Sabah, Sarawak
Malaysia Airlines umum pembatalan 11 penerbangan Sabah dan Kuala Lumpur serta lapan penerbangan laluan Sarawak dan Kuala Lumpur dibatalkan.
Reformasi ekonomi: Bukan sekadar umum, rakyat perlukan penjelasan - Penganalisis
Pelbagai platform dan kaedah penerangan perlu dilakukan lantaran tahap kefahaman rakyat terhadap sesuatu isu adalah berbeza.
Tarif air pengguna domestik Perak naik 5 sen mulai 1 Mei - Saarani
Saarani berkata, beliau yakin kenaikan itu tidak terlalu tinggi dan boleh diterima oleh rakyat.
Penang FC harap kehadiran satu lagi tonggak import
Bekas penyerang kebangsaan itu berkata kehadiran pemain import amat diperlukan pada posisi tengah menyerang.
Wanita Singapura hilang di Sepanyol ditemui mati dengan kesan tikaman: Laporan
Polis tempatan tahan seorang lelaki warga Singapura untuk dirakam keterangan.
Google tidak akan tuntut hak cipta atas kandungan dijana AI
Google tidak akan menuntut hak cipta output yang telah dijana dengan perkhidmatan AI generatif mereka.
Mangsa banjir di tiga negeri menurun - NADMA
Jumlah mangsa banjir menurun kepada 759 mangsa yang ditempatkan di enam pusat permindahan sementara setakat 6 pagi tadi.
KWSP tidak lagi jadi pemegang saham utama Affin Bank, buka laluan kepada Sarawak
Pelupusan saham Affin Bank oleh KWSP berlaku pada 12 April, namun tidak dinyatakan nilai urus niaga itu.
Niaga AWANI: Melengkapkan pekerja dengan kemahiran masa hadapan
Sertai perbincangan bersama Faizal Ridzuan, Perunding Sumber Manusia, mengenai risiko yang dihadapi oleh pekerja yang tidak mempunyai kemahiran masa depan yang diperlukan, termasuk aspek kecerdasan buatan (AI), serta impaknya terhadap keputusan pekerjaan dan keperluan pembangunan kemahiran.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Telegram sasar capai 1 bilion pengguna aktif bulanan tahun ini
Buat masa ini, perkhidmatan permesejan berkenaan mempunyai sekitar 900 juta pengguna aktif bulanan.
COVID-19: Hong Kong semak semula sekatan susulan penurunan kes
Bandar yang dikuasai China itu mempunyai beberapa peraturan COVID-19 yang paling ketat di dunia.
COVID-19: Hong Kong arah ujian saringan wajib ke atas semua penduduk
Kesemua 7.5 juta penduduk akan diwajibkan melakukan tiga ujian bermula pertengahan Mac.
Carrie Lam pertahan dasar COVID-19 yang diambil kerajaan
Lam berkata, pihak berkuasa mahu memastikan "tidak akan ada jangkitan wabak komuniti besar-besaran" di Hong Kong.
Perdagangan multilateral mainkan peranan amat penting - Ketua Eksekutif Hong Kong Carrie Lam
Perdagangan multilateral memperlihatkan nilai yang amat signifikan apabila amalan perlindungan terus berleluasa pada masa ini.
Penduduk Hong Kong mula terima suntikan vaksin COVID-19
Penduduk Hong Kong mula menerima suntikan vaksin COVID-19 pada Jumaat dengan keutamaan diberikan kepada golongan warga emas dan petugas kesihatan.
COVID-19: Hong Kong lulus penggunaan vaksin secara kecemasan
Kerajaan bersetuju untuk dapatkan 22.5 juta vaksin dari Oxford-AstraZeneca, syarikat Sinovac dan Fosun yang bekerjasama dengan syarikat Jerman BioNTech.
Kebakaran apartmen, tujuh maut manakala 11 lagi cedera
Kebakaran berpunca daripada sebuah restoran di bangunan tersebut namun punca kebakarannya masih lagi dalam siasatan.
Hong Kong tangguh pilihan raya ekoran penularan COVID-19
LegCo perlu melalui pilihan raya setahun sekali, bagi memilih 70 anggota yang dipilih secara langsung atau tidak langsung.
COVID-19: Hong Kong wajibkan penggunaan pelitup muka
Kira-kira 180,000 penjawat awam di Hong Kong akan mula bekerja dari rumah pada minggu hadapan susulan berikutan lebih 100 jangkitan baharu COVID-19 dilaporkan pada Ahad.
Hong Kong rai ulang tahun ke-23 penyerahan kepada China
Ulang tahun penyerahan Hong Kong pada tarikh 1 Julai itu sekian lama dianggap sebagai hari perpecahan dan perbezaan pendapat di wilayah separa autonomi itu.