PressTV - Chilean capital overrun by protests

21.10.11

PressTV - Chilean capital overrun by protests: Some 100,000 students took to the streets on Wednesday, demanding reforms in the country's educational system, the Associated Press reported.

Violence erupted after the law enforcement agents started confronting the protesters with tear gas canisters and water cannons. Protesters were seen throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the police.

A gas station was reportedly attacked and the protesters set fire to tires and several barricades they had set up.

The Chilean Deputy Interior Minister Rodrigo Ubilla said that some 260 people had been arrested during crackdown on dissent across the nation since early Tuesday.

Chilean students and teachers have been absenting themselves from classes and holding protest rallies to demand free education for the past five months.

Since the launch of the protests, more than 1,500 people have been arrested. Officials say some 350 have been charged and a dozen others placed in detention.