Hong Kong protests: Mong Kok camp retaken from police.

Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong have retaken streets in the Mong Kok district, just hours after they were cleared by the authorities.

Activists clashed with police, as about 9,000 protesters re-occupied the area. At least 26 people have been arrested.
Demonstrators have been occupying parts of the city for weeks, angered at China's curbs on who can stand in the next leadership election in 2017.
The government and students are due to hold talks on Tuesday.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said both sides would send five representatives to the negotiations.
Earlier this week the government called off planned talks saying they were impossible while the occupation of city streets continued.
Hong Kong leader CY Leung said on Thursday that he was ready for dialogue, but China would not retract its decision to vet candidates for the 2017 elections.

At the scene: Juliana Liu, BBC News, Hong Kong Wielding open umbrellas as their only weapons, thousands of pro-democracy protesters flocked to Mong Kok last night. Their goal was to push past police lines to re-occupy the streets that had been cleared by law enforcement officials just a few hours earlier.
The police responded by using batons and pepper spray but they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of demonstrators.
By Saturday morning, they had once again managed to retake territory south of a major intersection, stopping traffic in both directions.

 

Mong Kok woke on Saturday to the sight of protesters resting in the streets

 

Protesters opened their umbrellas as they pushed against police lines

 

 Protesters rebuilt barricades on Friday night after they retook some areas of Mong Kok

 

Many of the protesters are students and young people

The talks were announced after overnight clashes in which dozens of people were wounded, including at least 15 police officers.
Protest group Occupy Central issued a statement (in Chinese) saying that the clearance operations ordered by the government had "triggered a new wave of occupations and worsened relations between police and citizens".
Police Commissioner Andy Tsang said the protests were illegal and were "undermining the rule of law".
The Mong Kok camp in Kowloon is an offshoot of the original protest site around government offices in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island.
Protesters and police have also been facing off the Admiralty district, although there are no reports of clashes.

Police Commissioner Andy Tsang: "These illegal acts are hurting Hong Kong"

Protester numbers have dropped off since the start of the month, when tens of thousands were on the streets.
But tensions escalated this week, with violent clashes as police cleared an underpass on Lung Wo Road near the chief executive's offices.
A video showing plainclothes police officers beating an unarmed protester, who is a member of the pro-democracy Civic Party, also sparked outrage.
Police said seven officers had been suspended pending an investigation.

Hong Kong democracy timeline

• 1997: UK gives Hong Kong back to China under a 1984 agreement giving it "a high degree of autonomy" for 50 years
• 2004: China says it must approve any changes to Hong Kong's election laws
• June-July 2014: Pro-democracy activists hold an unofficial referendum on political reform; both sides hold large rallies
• 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017 but will pre-approve candidates
• 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes
• 28 September 2014: Occupy Central and student protests join forces and take over central Hong Kong
• 2017: Direct elections for chief executive due to take place