Fresh clashes in Athens, PM vows to protect people

Athens: Students pelted police with firebombs and stones in Athens on Friday in fresh clashes sparked by the police killing of a teenager, while Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis vowed to keep citizens safe.

On the seventh day of violence, students, angry at the shooting incident, low wages and unemployment, attacked police outside the parliament building. Riot police responded with teargas.

"Greece is a safe country," Karamanlis told a news conference in Brussels, where he pledged to guarantee the safety of its people and citizens.

Riots since the Decemebr 6 shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos have destroyed hundreds of shops, banks and cars, rattled the conservative Karamanlis government and shaken investor confidence in the 240 billion euro economy ($315 billion) as the global crisis bites.

Even as Karamanlis spoke in Brussels, about 5,000 protesters marched through Athens carrying banners saying: "The state kills" and "The government is guilty of murder".