Riot police scatter leftist protesters outside U.S. Embassy in Manila

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine riot police used shields and a water hose Saturday to disperse more than 100 leftist activists in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila in a confrontation that injured more than a dozen protesters.

The farmers and workers belonging to the militant Bayan group burned cardboard showing the U.S. and Chinese flags at the end of an hourlong protest outside the embassy. They were leaving the area when they were stopped by the police, who insisted that they use a side road.

In the ensuing conflict, police used their shields and a water hose from a firetruck to drive away the protesters, some of whom were seen in a video trying to fight back with flag poles and rocks.

Paul Carson, a spokesman for the protesters, said at least 13 people were taken to the hospital with bruises and other injuries. No arrests were reported.

The flag-waving protesters first converged at a Chinese consulate in the financial district of Makati to protest China’s assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea, then marched in the rain for more than 3 miles to the heavily secured U.S. Embassy in Manila to protest alleged U.S. meddling in the Philippines.

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