Hong Kong: Police fire tear gas at protesters on Christmas Eve

As anti-government rallies escalated into chaos on Christmas Eve, Hong Kong riot police on Tuesday fired tear gas at thousands of protestors here.

The demonstrators wearing masks and reindeer horns, in shopping malls and in a prime tourist district, threw objects at the police who responded by beating some protestors with batons, reported Al Jazeera.

To disperse the crowd, the police also fired tear gas at the agitators, who had occupied the main roads outside the malls and nearby luxurious hotels.

Last week, protesters handed out Christmas cards to passers-by and also asked them to write messages for the injured or arrested in the city.

Over more than half a year of regular violent street clashes between protesters and police, more than 6,100 people, aged 11 to 84, have been arrested, according to the authorities.

The Hospital authorities noted that more than 2,600 have been admitted with injuries related to the protests, at which officers have used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon, and the demonstrators have regularly hurled bricks, petrol bombs and other projectiles.