Moment protesters clash with police in UK city as people warned to avoid area | UK | News

Around 50 protesters have gathered in south London causing travel chaos, as extra Metropolitan Police officers have been deployed to control the crowd.

Camberwell Road in Camberwell is blocked near to Burgess Park has been blocked due to the ongoing protest, MyLondon reports.

The Southwark Police account on X, formerly Twitter, announced: « Officers are on scene in Camberwell Road, SE5 where there is a protest with approximately 50 people gathered outside a private venue. Additional officers are on their way to the location to assist with the demonstration. »

A line of uniformed officers can be seen in a video holding back, and defending themselves against protesters holding sticks and poles.

Officers, who are not in riot gear as they await backup, have their batons raised in defence as one member of the crowd throws a roadworks barrier at them, and other swing weapons towards them.

It’s unconfirmed what the protest is related to, but one man who claims to have spoken to locals at the scene says it’s linked to unrest in the African nation Eritrea, reports MyLondon.

Southwark Police has said a section 35 dispersal order has been put in place in Camberwell Road until 7am tomorrow. It gives police the power to exclude individuals or groups of people from the area for 48 hours.

More footage shows police in riot gear lining the streets as protesters use megaphones in their protest.

The Met Police has confirmed to Express.co.uk that the protests are in relation to tensions in the Eritrean community.

One person on X said he heard the Eritrean embassy was in the middle of a meeting when the protesters showed up at the scene. 

« People I’ve talked to say that the Eritrean embassy was holding a meeting and the protesters turned up and there was a confrontation between the two groups, » he said. « Now they are kettling protesters while the Eritrean government staff are still inside the building I think. »