Police fire tr gas as protesters riot in Rome

ROME (AP) — Italian police fired tr gas and water cannons as protesters in Rome turned a demonstration against corporate greed into a riot Saturday, smashing shop and bank , torching cars and hurling bottles.
The protest in the Italian capital was part of "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations against capitalism and austerity msures that went global Saturday, lding to dozens of marches and protests worldwide.Protesters hurl objects at police in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Protesters in Rome smashed shop and torched cars as violence broke out during a demonstration in the Italian capital, part of worldwide protests against corporate greed and austerity msures. The "Occupy Wall Street" protests, that began in Canada and sprd to cities across the U.S., moved Saturday to Asia and Europe, linking up with anti-austerity demonstrations that have raged across the debt-ridden continent for months. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Black smoke billowed into the air in downtown Rome as a small group broke away from the main demonstration and wrked havoc in streets closed to the Colosseum.
Protesters clad in black with their faces covered threw rocks, bottles and other objects at police in riot gr. Some had held clubs, others had hammers. They threw an incendiary devices and fires at banks, destroyed bank ATMs and set trash bins on fire, news reports said.
Two news crews from Sky Italia were assaulted.
footage showed police in riot gr charging the protesters and firing water cannons at them.
The ANSA news acy said some protesters trashed s of the Defense Ministry and of a labor acy, smashing with clubs and setting cars on fire.
Police were out in force as up to 100,000 protesters were expected a day after Premier Silvio Berlusconi barely survived a confidence vote in Parliament. Italy is rapidly becoming a focus of concern in Europe's debt crisis.
"People of Europe: Rise Up!" rd a banner in Rome. Some pceful demonstrators turned against the violent group and tried to stop them, hurling bottles, Sky Italia and ANSA said. Others fled, scared by the violence.
At lst one man was injured as he tried to stop some protesters from hurling bottles.
Anarchist groups have often infiltrated demonstrations in Italy in the past. ANSA said four people from an anarchist group were arrested Saturday morning before the demonstration, with police seizing helmets, anti-gas masks, clubs and hundreds of bottles in their car.
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