Law enforcement has deployed water cannons and used pepper spray against demonstrators outside the country’s parliament
Georgian police late on Monday moved in to disperse protestors blocking the country’s parliament in Tbilisi, deploying water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray against the crowds.
The unrest, which was triggered by a new attempt to pass a controversial “foreign agents” bill that is vehemently criticized by opposition lawmakers, has been ongoing for several days already.
Footage from the scene shows a large numbers of police officers clad in riot gear and equipped with shields and batons advancing on the retreating protesters. At least two water cannon trucks positioned behind the police can be seen repeatedly dousing the crowds.
Officers wearing gas masks were also seen pepper-spraying protesters, as well as apparently deploying tear gas to disperse the crowd. A number of protesters who had been affected by the substances appeared to have received treatment from paramedics at the scene, yet it was not immediately clear whether any of them had received serious injuries.
The most rowdy protesters were seen dismantling police barricades and pelting law enforcement with various projectiles, while scuffles repeatedly erupted near the parliament building. The decision to disperse the protest was prompted by attempts on the part of demonstrators to block the entrances to the building, the police explained in a statement.
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