Black-clad protesters fought street battles with riot police in Hong Kong yesterday during a protest in retaliation for an attack by suspected triad gangs on activists and commuters last Sunday.

Defying a police ban, thousands of protesters gathered near Yuen Long MTR station in the New Territories where last week's attack occurred. Some protesters set up barricades and hurled rocks, bottles and other projectiles at police, who fired volleys of tear gas to try to disperse them.

By nightfall, many of the protesters had left the scene, though a hardened group battled police around the train station late last night.

Hong Kong has been convulsed by demonstrations triggered by a controversial Bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China but which have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms. Another protest is planned today on Hong Kong Island.

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