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More than a dozen injured after assailants attack gay pride rally in Kiev

More than a dozen injured after assailants attack gay pride rally in Kiev
Police detain opponents of a gay rights march, in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 6, 2015.
Police detain opponents of a gay rights march, in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 6, 2015.
Vladimir Donsov, AP
A policemen clashes with an opponent of a gay rights march, in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 6, 2015.
A policemen clashes with an opponent of a gay rights march, in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 6, 2015. Vladimir Donsov, AP
Policemen detain an opponent of a gay rights march, in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 6, 2015.
Policemen detain an opponent of a gay rights march, in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 6, 2015. Vladimir Donsov, AP

KIEV, Ukraine — At least 25 people were detained and more than a dozen were injured after assailants attacked a gay pride rally in Kiev on Saturday, throwing flares, smoke bombs and tear gas.

The Interior Ministry said 25 people were detained in the violence surrounding the march of an estimated 300 people.

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Local news reports said at least four marchers and nine police officers were injured in the clash.

One of the policemen was in serious condition with a shrapnel would to his neck, the ministry said.

The march took place in the morning along the Dnipro River in Kiev. Helmeted riot police formed a cordon to keep marchers and opponents at a distance from each other.

The opponents threw smoke bombs and some tried to break through the cordon. Some demonstrators were attacked after the march dispersed.

As in other parts of the former Soviet Union, animosity to gays persists. The tensions are aggravated by opponents’ claims that Ukraine’s political turn toward the West will promote gay marriage.

Associated Press contributed to this report.
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