Police fire tear gas on China village after land grab protest

HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Chinese security forces fired tear gas and beat protesters in a village in southern China on Sunday to quell a grassroots protest movement over a land dispute, residents said.

Dozens of villagers were taken to hospitals in Mianhu town and Jieyang city and five people were arrested, witnesses said.

A large contingent of riot police and other security personnel moved into Shangpu village in southern Guangdong province early on Sunday morning, said several residents contacted by Reuters by telephone and on microblogging sites.

"They didn't say a thing and started firing teargas and beating villagers with truncheons," said a young villager who witnessed the incident.