Georgian Protesters Attempt to Storm the Capital's Presidential Palace
Police in Georgia have confronted with anti-government demonstrators trying to enter the presidential palace in the capital, Tbilisi.
Security forces deployed water cannons and pepper spray to break up the demonstrators.
The South Caucasus country has been in crisis since the ruling incumbent party declared success in last year's general election, which the pro-European Union protest movement alleges was fraudulent. Since then, the administration has halted negotiations on entering the EU.
The demonstration took place on the identical day as local elections, which the opposition is mostly boycotting following a state crackdown. One organiser had earlier called for officials of the Georgian Dream party to be arrested.
Waving national and EU banners, tens of thousands of protesters proceeded in downtown Tbilisi on Saturday.
One of the organisers, vocalist the protest leader, announced a declaration urging the personnel of the ministry of internal affairs to heed the demands of the public and to without delay arrest several senior figures from the Georgian Dream party.
Protesters then marched on the president's office and attempted to access the compound, prompting security forces to use pepper spray.
The protest comes after a repressive measures on protesters, free press and opposition groups in the past few months, with the majority of the leaders of the pro-Western opposition now behind bars.
