Hundreds of students arrested at US protests

Police in riot gear have moved to stamp out a weeks-long pro-Palestinian protest movement on university campuses across the US, arresting hundreds of people and clearing encampments, as duelling groups of protesters clashed in Los Angeles.

- Gloria Oladipo and Edward Helmore, Dani Anguiano 

At Columbia University in New York, where the protests began, more than 300 people were arrested late on Tuesday, while in Los Angeles there were chaotic and violent scenes at the University of California when counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.

Echoing language used by officials elsewhere, New York City's mayor, Eric Adams, blamed "external protesters" for "hijacking the protest and persuading students to escalate", without offering details. Student protest leaders disputed such claims.

Dozens of protesters were also arrested at the City College of New York in Harlem, and encampments were cleared at Northern Arizona University and at Tulane University in New Orleans.

On the west coast, violent clashes broke out on the University of California Los Angeles campus when counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.

Aerial footage showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being held up as a makeshift barricade . At least one fi rework was thrown into the camp.

Administrators at the university called in law enforcement offi cers to try to stem the violence, which was the worst since counter-protesters who support Israel’s continuing military operation in Gaza set up a rival protest area near the pro-Palestinian encampment.

“Horrifi c acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Mary Osako , vice-chancellor at the university, said late on Tuesday, adding: “We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.”