Hong Kong authorities continued Wednesday clearing a main protest camp, prompting renewed clashes between police and demonstrators.

Police hauled away several protesters, including student leaders Lester Shum and Joshua Wong, who were seen as the face of the so-called Occupy Movement.

The clashes broke out when bailiffs backed by thousands of police began dismantling street barricades on Nathan Road at the Mong Kok protest site.

On Tuesday, police said they arrested 116 people during an operation to clear another part of the site. They said at least 20 police officers were injured in clashes.

The bailiffs and police are enforcing court orders to clear certain parts of the protests, which have gone on for nearly two months but are now dwindling.

Several recent public opinion polls suggest the protests are beginning to lose public support.

The demonstrators have been calling for fully democratic elections in 2017. They took to the streets after China ruled in August that all candidates for Hong Kong’s chief executive must first be approved by a committee that is stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists.
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