Hong Kong protest: Police fire tear gas at protestors in Sham Shui Po district

Violent clashes broke out between police and pro-democracy demonstrators on Sunday after thousands took to the streets of Sham Shui Po district for an unauthorised march as a part of the ongoing anti-government protests.

Police fired tear gas at the black-clad protestors who had occupied the main thoroughfare of Cheung Sha Wan Road in the district. Some of the protestors had set up barricades at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street, obstructing traffic in the area.

Others gathered near Dragon Centre shopping centre at Yen Chow Street and were seen hurling bricks at police officers, reported the Straits Times.

Protestors shouted slogans such as "Hong Kong police, know the law and yet break the law," in reference to the recent alleged police collusion with local triads.

Meanwhile, the three-day peaceful sit-in at the Hong Kong International airport -- aimed at gaining international support for the ongoing pro-democracy movement -- continued on Sunday.

The sit-in began had begun on Friday and has not disturbed operations at the airport so far.

Hong Kong International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and handles as many as 1,100 passengers and cargo flights every day, with services between the city and about 200 international destinations, reported CNN.

As many as 16 people were arrested on Saturday for unlawful assembly, possession of an offensive weapon, assaulting a police officer and obstructing a police officer in the execution of duties, police said.

The semi-autonomous region has seen ten consecutive weeks of anti-government protests that began against a now-suspended extradition bill, and have since broadened to include calls for democracy and police accountability.

As many as 600 people have been arrested since the protests escalated in June.

The said extradition bill was proposed on April 3 and its opposers argue that its controversial amendments will leave anyone on Hong Kong soil vulnerable to being grabbed by the Chinese authorities for political reasons or inadvertent business offences.

Multiple protests, sometimes violent, continue to take place in the semi-autonomous state despite the city's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam publicly apologizing for proposing the controversial legislation and announcing later that the bill was "dead".