Clashes erupt at UCLA between rival groups as Gaza war protests rock US campuses
- Police respond to violent clashes at the University of California campus in Los Angeles
- Student protests over the Israel-Gaza war have popped up at many US universities
Clashes broke out on Wednesday at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as dozens of universities around the United States struggle to contain similar protests.
Protesters and counterprotesters were seen clashing with sticks, and tearing down metal barricades, TV footage showed.
Others were seen launching fireworks or hurling objects at each other in the dark – lit up with laser pointers and bright flashlights. Tear smoke was also fired at rival protesters, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
The Los Angeles police department said on social media platform X that “officers have been deployed, and are currently on the UCLA campus, to assist in restoring order”.
The force, which was still present in large numbers as of 4am (1100 GMT), had earlier said it was responding “due to multiple acts of violence within the large encampment” after the university asked for help to quell the clashes.