Riot police raid protester camps during night of clashes Security forces clashed with anti-government protesters in Kyiv as the police began tearing down barricades and tents early on Wednesday. Several thousand police in riot gear used their shields to push back the protesters and successfully removed some tents and barriers. But thousands of demonstrators, swelling in numbers through the night, put up a fierce resistance for hours, shoving back at the police lines to keep them away from the centre of the protest camp in Independence Square.