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Philippine Police Van Runs Over Protesters at U.S. Embassy
[An Nahar] A Philippine police van on Wednesday rammed and ran over baton-wielding protesters outside the U.S. embassy in Manila, with the driver of the vehicle saying he panicked because he feared being mobbed.Hundreds of protesters had gathered at the embassy to voice support for President Rodrigo Duterte's recent tirades against the United States, the Philippines' longtime ally, and call for American troops to leave the country. Television footage showed protesters hitting the vehicle with long sticks and breaking through a security cordon close to the embassy. Police also fired tear gas and used their batons to strike back at protesters. At one stage the van reversed quickly into dozens of people then forward again, running over a man, who was able to stand up and stumble away. "They were trying to take over the vehicle, trying to overturn it," the vehicle's driver, police officer Franklin Khu, told news hounds afterwards, according to ABS CBN television, which filmed the incident. Asked if he panicked, Khu said: "Of course, our vehicle was overturning and if they seized control, they could run down other coppers." Police chiefs said some of the protesters had sustained minor injuries, although rally organizers said 50 were hurt and five had been taken to hospital. Photos showed a second man trapped underneath the van after it had stopped, with his leg and hips under one of the back tyres. He was later seen limping away. Police insisted the protesters had instigated the violence. "We had to disperse them. They started it. They were trying to enter the embassy," Chief Inspector Arsenio Riparip, one of the officers overseeing the incident, told AFP. Posted by: Fred 2016-10-20 |
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