Protests have erupted in cities around the world in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the United States.

The protests follow the death in Minnesota of George Floyd, a 46-year old black man, last week in police custody. 

In central London, demonstrations turned violent Sunday as police tried to clear a road junction outside Parliament. Police made 23 arrests. Protesters accused the police of triggering the violence, an accusation that authorities denied.

“We came out here peacefully to protest the injustice in the U.K.,” one demonstrator told reporters. “It's now a global issue with the murder of George Floyd, everything that's going on in the world.’

Hundreds of people also gathered in central London’s Trafalgar Square chanting, “George Floyd, Say His Name.”

Demonstrators also chanted, “I Can’t Breathe” as they marched on the U.S. Embassy — the words spoken by Floyd as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd lay handcuffed and prone on the ground after he was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bank note. He was pronounced dead later that day. Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Source : VOA