Police fire tear gas during clashes in Hong Kong

Police fired tear gas during clashes in a rural Hong Kong town on Saturday as several thousand activists gathered.

Demonstrators had been marching through the northern district of Yuen Long, condemning an assault on pro-democracy protesters by armed masked men that took place there last week.

The police had refused to allow the march in the town on safety grounds.

But protesters pushed ahead and an initially peaceful action by several thousand in sweltering summer heat grew increasingly tense with stand-offs between police and protesters in several locations.

Rocks and bottles were thrown at police by protesters, who built barricades out of street furniture and umbrellas. Police responded with tear gas.

The protester added that many who marched did not want to stay late, saying Yuen Long was too dangerous for them after dark.

Messages circulating among protesters called for a withdrawal at 7.30pm (1130 GMT), but some doubted it would be followed.

Last Sunday, about 100 white-shirted men stormed the Yuen Long mass-transit station hours after protesters marched through central Hong Kong and defaced China’s Liaison Office - the main symbol of Beijing’s authority over the former British colony.

The men attacked black-clad protesters returning from Hong Kong island, passers-by, journalists and lawmakers with pipes and clubs, leaving 45 people injured. Some of the men later fled to Nam Pin Wai, a traditional walled village.

Hong Kong has seen seven weeks of anti-government and pro-democracy protests.

The protests were sparked by a controversial bill that would have enabled extraditions to mainland China.

The government has since halted the legislation - but protesters are now also demanding an inquiry into police violence, democratic reform, and that the territory's leader Carrie Lam resign.