Clashes erupt between police, protesters against presence of US forces in Milan Olympics

MILAN, Feb. 08 (YPA) – Thousands of protesters participated in a peaceful demonstration against the presence of US agents in Italy, and the environmental impact of the Games in Milan’s Cortina d’Azur in Milan.

At the end of the protest, the Italian police fired tear gas and water cannons at the demonstrators who threw fireworks and tried to reach a highway near Winter Olympic venues.

After the clashes ended, the police managed to repel the protesters, who had become violent and appeared to want to reach the ice hockey arena in Santa Giulia. By then, the larger, more peaceful protest, which included families with children and students, had ended.

Earlier on Saturday, a group of masked protesters had thrown smoke bombs and firecrackers at a bridge overlooking a construction site about 800 meters from the Olympic Village, which houses nearly 1,500 athletes.