Violent protests against EU summit

The violence broke out when a group of demonstrators tried to break through police lines to march closer to the venue where the European Union’s 15 leaders were meeting.
The summit is being held to ratify the accession of 10 new member states, but it has been overshadowed by the EU’s bitter splits over the Iraq war.

Smoke from flaming molotov *censored*tails and teargas billowed in the air as police helicopters hovered above the demonstration.

Dozens of shop fronts, bus stops and garbage bins were smashed and set on fire.

After being turned away from Syntagma Square, the demonstrators marched through the city’s nearby diplomatic district.

At least a dozen molotov *censored*tails were thrown at the British embassy before police officers in full riot gear fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

Police, who were expecting the protests, have mounted an unprecedented security operation in the city, turning Athens into a fortress. Some 20,000 officers are on duty and key streets are blocked off.

In the British Airways protest, 100 members of the Greek communist party took over the second-floor offices and the roof of the building in the southern seaside suburb of Glyfada.

They stopped BA employees entering and said they planned to stay until they joined the main anti-war rally.

Public service offices and schools will be closed during the two-day summit, parking will be prohibited around central Athens and the Acropolis will be sealed off.

Activists including Stop the War Coalition and labour groups have planned non-stop protests against the presence of US, British and other forces in Iraq.

The European leaders and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan are expected to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq and try to mend bitter divisions over the war.
Greek public opinion has been virulently opposed to the invasion of Iraq and there have been regular demonstrations outside the US and British embassies.