At dawn local time in Los Angeles, police have removed many of the protesters on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), according to the BBC.
The barricades of tents and loose objects have been dismantled and removed, the channel reports, citing local police.
The arrested protesters have been taken away in buses.
Shoot with rubber bullets
Police with shields and batons fill the area outside UCLA. Chaos reigns between the police and hundreds of protesters.
It shows TV images from the university.
Several media write that the police have fired rubber bullets at the crowd. Loud bangs have also been heard at the scene.
The BBC writes that the police have moved in to the tent camp in the area, where most of the protesters have stayed.
Photos from UCLA show that several of the tents are empty and that there are few people in the area.
The police have arrested several students and dispersed the demonstration at UCLA in Los Angeles.
Photo: David Swanson / Reuters
Several people have been arrested and taken away with their hands tied behind their backs.
The Los Angeles Police Department has yet to publicly comment on the operation.
They used flares to disperse the crowds gathered outside the camp. The AFP news agency reports that helicopters hovered over the area.
Refused to remove
On the night of Wednesday, violent clashes broke out on the grounds of UCLA. Just after 11 o’clock Norwegian time, the police entered the university.
They had then threatened to break in for several hours, if the demonstrators did not remove themselves.
Between 300 and 500 protesters are said to have stayed inside the university campus.
The protesters are demanding a ceasefire.
Photo: Aude Guerrucci / Reuters
This is reported by the local TV station KABC-TV. Around 2,000 people are said to have gathered outside the barricades to show their support.
The raid was led by California Highway Patrol officers, who carried shields and batons.
– This is a peaceful protest, there are no counter-demonstrators tonight, so calling the police on them is abhorrent. This city should support them, says LA resident Jack Bedrosian to the AFP news agency.
The protesters said they refused to remove themselves from the tent camp that has been set up.
– Don’t let us down, a pro-Palestinian student is said to have said as he was taken away by the police, according to the channel.
Student rebellion at the boiling point
The student uprisings against the war in Gaza are at the boiling point at several universities in the United States.
The campus has almost 52,000 students, including undergraduates and graduates. According to UCLA officials, the area will remain closed, except for limited operations Thursday and Friday.
The police have declared the demonstration an illegal assembly.
Earlier, the police moved into Columbia University in New York. The university has been a center of protests recently. The students were threatened with expulsion, but still refused to leave the area.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken believes the students’ demonstration is part of democracy.
– It is a characteristic of democracy that citizens show their views, concerns and anger. I think it reflects the strength of our country,” Blinken said in a statement.
Condemns the violence
The clashes between the students and the police came as a reaction after pro-Israel students fired rockets at the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The BBC reports that the governor of California, Gavin Newson, is reacting to the fact that the police took too long to arrive at the scene.
– The police’s limited and delayed intervention is unacceptable, says the spokesperson to Newson.
The governor condemns the violence at UCLA.
– The law is clear, freedom of expression does not include inciting violence, vandalism or lawlessness, writes Newson on X.
Tags: Police stop Gaza demonstrations Los Angeles NRK Urix Foreign news documentaries
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