Scores of protesters were wounded as riot police cleared the way for the engineers, fighting pitched battles with protesters and eventually overpowering them.
PYONGRAEK: South Korean protesters clashed with police for the second day on Friday at a planned site for a new US military base, leaving scores of people wounded, some seriously, officials and witnesses said.
On Thursday, military engineers moved in and cordoned off two townships about 70 km south of Seoul, where South Korea and the United States have agreed to relocate the main US base now in Seoul and several others across the country.
Scores of protesters, police and several journalists were wounded as riot police cleared the way for the engineers, fighting pitched battles with protesters and eventually overpowering them.
Friday’s fight started outside the townships as about 1,500 anti-US protesters and unionists regrouped overnight and began marching into the fenced-off site.
What began as rowdy shoving and fisticuffs involving hundreds on both sides turned more violent as the day progressed. Some protesters broke through a newly erected fence and charged at unarmed soldiers with sticks, injuring scores.
The Defence Ministry said 11 soldiers suffered serious injuries and were airlifted by helicopter to a military hospital just south of Seoul. It was not known if any of the injuries were life-threatening, a defence official said.
Witnesses said fighting continued late into the night, with soldiers, who are under orders to refrain from fighting back, defending themselves.
The confrontation had been brewing for months as about 100 farmers refused to vacate the area. Last ditch talks between the government and residents aimed at a compromise broke down on Monday.
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