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Greek Police Clash with Protesters on Anniversary of Police Shooting of Teenager


A petrol bomb explodes next to riot police as clashes erupted during an anniversary rally marking the 2008 police shooting of 15-year-old student Alexandros Grigoropoulos, in Thessaloniki, Greece, Dec. 6, 2018.
A petrol bomb explodes next to riot police as clashes erupted during an anniversary rally marking the 2008 police shooting of 15-year-old student Alexandros Grigoropoulos, in Thessaloniki, Greece, Dec. 6, 2018.

Greek police clashed with protesters Thursday after demonstrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the killing of a teenage boy by police, which triggered the country's worst riots in decades.

Hundreds marched peacefully through central Athens in a tribute to 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos who was shot dead in 2008.

After the evening march, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters hurling petrol bombs at them in the bohemian Exarchia district, where the unarmed boy was killed.

Some of the protesters set garbage containers on fire and set cars alight.

Earlier, people laid flowers and lit candles during a memorial service on the spot where Grigoropoulos was killed.

Police had deployed more than 2,000 officers in Athens.

Some in full riot gear formed protective cordons outside parliament and hotels in the city, while a helicopter hovered over the central Syntagma Square and neighboring districts through the day.

Around noon, hundreds of students marched toward parliament.

Clashes also broke out during demonstrations in the northern city of Thessaloniki, with police firing tear gas and stun grenades at protesters hurling stones and petrol bombs at them.

On the night of Dec. 6, 2008, hours after Grigoropoulos was shot, thousands took to the streets of Athens, torching cars, smashing window shops and looting.

The riots, which were also fueled by anger over unemployment and economic hardship in a prelude to Greece's debt crisis, lasted for weeks.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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