Students Hurl Hundreds of Firebombs at Seoul Police

Protesters yelling anti-Olympic slogans hurled hundreds of firebombs at riot police today as radical students vowed to disrupt the Summer Games if a student leader is not released.

About 1,000 students clashed with police around Korea University in the worst street violence in Seoul since the Games began Sept. 17.

The protest marked the second straight day of demonstrations calling for the release of student leader Oh Young Shik, arrested by police last week.

Waves of students pelted police with rocks and firebombs, setting some troopers and some demonstrators ablaze. Police tried to fend off the missiles with shields during the hourlong clash.

“Down with the dictators’ Olympics!” and “Yankee go home!” radicals yelled as they charged lines of riot police blocking the streets with shields.

Police martial-arts squads with long batons charged the students, beating and kicking some protesters. But police were pushed back several times by counterattacking students.

Some police and students were injured by firebombs and rocks, but police had no casualty figures. There were no reports of arrests.

The fighting was confined to the streets in front of the school in northeastern Seoul, about 15 miles from where the Games are being held. Students from other Seoul colleges took part.

Firemen called in by police tried to douse exploding firebombs with hoses, but students drove them off with more missiles.

Police were hampered in the fighting because of a government ban on using tear gas during the Olympics to try to preserve peace. The police hurled stones and rocks, but had no effective way of fighting back without tear gas.

Police tried to avoid a clash, staying in back streets while the students blocked the main road and tore down part of the school’s walls. Students attacked with firebombs as soon as police moved in.

Radicals said they would disrupt the Olympics, including the men’s marathon on Sunday, if police do not release Oh. The student leader was charged Tuesday with violating national security laws for organizing anti-government demonstrations.