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Canada police attack students in anti-austerity rally

Wednesday, 25 March 2015 8:26 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 25 March 2015 10:19 AM ]

A smoke bomb lands by police during a demonstration by students on March 23, 2015 in Montreal.

Police have attacked thousands of student demonstrators protesting against education cuts in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Thousands of students took to the streets of Montreal, the largest city of Quebec, on Tuesday to protest against sweeping education cuts.

College and university students gathered in Phillips Square where they began their march through downtown streets, media reports say.

Security forces in riot gear fired rubber bullets, smoke grenades and sound bombs to break up the march. The students were protesting Quebec's cuts to social services.

The demonstration in Montreal was declared illegal almost as soon as it started, because the organizers failed to provide police with a planned protest route.

Police disperse demonstrators as students protest against proposed austerity changes by the Quebec provincial government, Monday, March 23, 2015 in Montreal.

Sources say Canadian police have rounded up several people downtown Montreal during the demonstration.

The latest demonstration had been organized by the student group Association pour un Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSE) and some other organizations.

Organizers and student leaders say they will continue their protests in the upcoming weeks.

The latest demonstration comes following nearly two weeks of planned strikes and protests against the proposed austerity measures.

Students have been protesting across Canada’s eastern province of Quebec since February 2012 in a bid to add up pressure on the provincial government to drop a plan to increase tuition fees. Some of the demonstrations have turned violent, with many students detained during clashes with police.

Student protesters in Montreal on Saturday, March 21, 2015.

Police have come under fire in Montreal for their kettling practices which is a crowd control tactic designed to keep people confined in a small space. Protesters have said police assaulted them and have used cruel and degrading treatment during the marches.

JR/NN/HRB

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