Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday to disperse tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters who defied authorities to hold an unsanctioned march through Hong Kong, a day after riot police dispersed another illegal rally.
The clashes mark a second consecutive day of violence in a city reeling from weeks of anti-government protests that show no sign of abating.
Sunday's unrest took place in a residential district close to the Liaison Office, which represents Beijing in the semi-autonomous region. Police and protesters were engaged in a tense stand-off for hours after tens of thousands of demonstrators held a series of unsanctioned marches through the city in defiance of a police ban on new gatherings.
Officials had initially granted permission for a rally in a park in a key commercial district known as Central, but the crowds quickly spilled into the surrounding streets. Some headed east to Causeway Bay, a busy shopping district, where they erected barricades and took over a main thoroughfare as shops and malls remained shuttered.
The demonstrations over the last seven weeks were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but the protests have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to backsliding on freedoms.