Iran police use tear-gas against demonstrators

Iranian police fired tear-gas yesterday as thousands of demonstrators defied government warnings and staged a march to commemorate the anniversary of bloody student unrest in 1999, witnesses said. Protesters chanted "Death to the dictator" as they...

Iranian police fired tear-gas yesterday as thousands of demonstrators defied government warnings and staged a march to commemorate the anniversary of bloody student unrest in 1999, witnesses said.

Protesters chanted "Death to the dictator" as they gathered in streets around Tehran University, epicentre of the violence 10 years ago.

The witnesses said police arrested several people, and some protesters set roadside rubbish bins ablaze. They said windows in a state-owned bank were smashed, and police seized the number plates of vehicles whose drivers sounded their horns in protest.

Reinforcements were sent in after a volley of tear-gas failed to disperse the demonstrators who continued to grow in number, the witnesses said. Police then fired a second volley.

The witnesses said members of the hardline Basij militia also reinforced police ranks.

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