HONG KONG—A group of men assailed the camps of protesting students in two places in Hong Kong today, pulling apart some of their makeshift structures and bashing the protesters about the heads. Police mostly stood by, according to witnesses.
Images of bloodied men being taken to hospital emerged on social media in the afternoon, after the thugs attacked them.
The main thrust of the attack took place in Mongkok, a busy shopping district where locals live cheek by jowl in small apartments above the many clothing, knick-knack, and electronic stores on crowded sidestreets.
Students there have for the last week or so shut off roads in Mongkok and erected barricades and large tents, where they give speeches discussing Hong Kong’s political future.
In the afternoon, a group of men rushed the students, yanking down their tarpaulins and hitting and pushing the students around.
