Anti-government protesters start a large fire in a staircase at the main entrance that leads into the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18, 2019. – Hong Kong police early November 18 warned for the first time that they may use “live rounds” after pro-democracy protesters fired arrows and threw petrol bombs at officers at a besieged university campus, as the crisis engulfing the city veered deeper into danger. Protests have tremored through the global financial hub since June, with many in the city of 7.5 million people venting fury at eroding freedoms under Chinese rule. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu / AFP)
HONG KONG — A large fire burned near an entrance to a besieged Hong Kong campus on Monday morning after protesters threw Molotov cocktails to fend off a police advance on the university, according to AFP reporters at the scene.
Police have encircled hundreds of protesters dug in at Hong Kong Polytechnic University since late Sunday, declaring the area a “riot” zone and threatening to breach barricades built by pro-democracy protesters.