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Protestors clash with Athens police over austerity

The incident marks the first public disorder against the government, which was elected on January 25 on a promise to write off a chunk of the country's debt

27 February 2015, 8:30am

1 min read

A protestor throws a Molotov cocktail at riot police

Scores of protesters have clashed with riot police in central Athens, smashing shop windows, throwing petrol bombs and burning cars after an anti-government march, the first since the leftist Syriza party took power a month ago.

Around 450 far-left protesters took to the streets on Thursday in opposition to the newly elected left-right coalition government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Reuters reported. Tsipras' administration made a deal with EU partners last week to extend an aid programme to Athens.

The deal has triggered dissent within Tsipras' own party and accusations by some on the hard left that the government is going back on pre-election promises, including to end a much-hated €240 billion EU-International Monetary Fund bailout programme.

The incident marks the first public disorder against the government, which was elected on January 25 on a promise to write off a chunk of the country's debt and end painful austerity which has helped pushed a quarter of Greece into unemployment.