ATHENS (Reuters) – Clashes broke out between police and protesters in Athens on Friday after thousands marched to mark the 16th anniversary of the police killing of a teenage boy, whose death triggered Greece’s worst riots in decades.
About 5,000 people joined the annual march to commemorate the fatal shooting of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, who was 15 at the time.
As the march ended, hooded protesters set garbage containers on fire in the Exarchia district, where the unarmed boy was shot dead by a policeman. The protesters hurled petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who responded with rounds of teargas.
Thousands of police officers were deployed in central Athens as part of security measures for the march on Friday. More than 60 people have been temporarily detained and eight arrested, a police official said.
On the night of Dec. 6, 2008, hours after Grigoropoulos was shot, thousands took to the streets of Athens, torching cars and smashing window shops and looting. The riots went on for weeks.
(Reporting by Stamos Prousalis; Writing by Renee Maltezou, editing by Deepa Babington)
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