Police clear protesters in Kyiv

Police began clearing demonstrators from the government district in the capital of Ukraine on Monday evening.

Dozens of protesters, who had been blockading the area in central Kyiv, were forced to back away.

Protest leaders had called on people not to resist, and no major incident has been reported.

One of the police officers at the scene said they were trying to keep the tension down.

“We are here to maintain public order. It’s peaceful as you see, there is no provocation. That’s our job,” he added.

Workers followed the police line and hurried to dismantle the barricades, which had prevented even pedestrians entering the district.

In a separate development, the party headquarters of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was raided by masked men with guns – according to a spokeswoman.

Both the police and Ukraine’s security services have denied involvement in the incident, in which computer servers were seized.

According to some sources the authorities will not make any move against the main protest camp in Independence Square for now.