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Further protests in US over killings by police

There were numerous arrests, scuffles and injuries in confrontations between police and demonstrators
There were numerous arrests, scuffles and injuries in confrontations between police and demonstrators

Protests against the shootings of two black men by police officers shut down main arteries in a number of US cities last night.

There were numerous arrests, scuffles and injuries in confrontations between police and demonstrators.

Undeterred by heightened concerns about safety at protests after a lone gunman killed five police officers in Dallas on Thursday night, organisers went ahead with marches in New York, Washington DC, and other cities.             

It was the third straight day of widespread protests after the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and the death of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St Paul, Minnesota suburb, cities which both saw heated protests yesterday.

The most recent shooting deaths by police come after several years of contentious killings by law enforcement officers, including that of Michael Brown, a teenager whose death in the summer of 2014 caused riots and weeks of protests in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson.

Last night, hundreds of protesters shut down I-94, a major thoroughfare linking the Twin Cities.             

Protesters, told to disperse, threw rocks, bottles and concrete reinforcement bars at officers, injuring at least three, St Paul police said.

Police made arrests and used smoke bombs and marking rounds to disperse the crowd.             

Protesters at the scene said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Police said early this morning they had begun clearing the highway of debris in preparation for re-opening it.

Baton Rouge protest

A march in Baton Rouge saw scuffles between riot police and Black Panther activists, several of whom carried shotguns. Louisiana law allows for weapons to be carried openly.             

After a short standoff later in the evening, riot police arrested as many as 30 demonstrators and recovered weapons.   

Prominent black activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate Deray McKesson was among those arrested.             

Protests also took place in Nashville, where demonstrators briefly blocked a road, and in Indianapolis. 

A rally in San Francisco also briefly blocked a freeway ramp, according to local media.             

Hundreds of protesters marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York. The crowd swelled to around a thousand people, closing down Fifth Avenue.             

Some chanted "No racist police, no justice, no peace" as rain fell in New York.

New York police said they arrested about a dozen protesters for shutting down a major city highway.