Tbilisi law enforcement officers tried to disperse protesters against the foreign agent law by using stun grenades and gas, reports RIA Novosti.
Around 4:00 a.m., the sound of a shot was heard on Rustaveli Boulevard, while the situation was calm before. In response, the protesters started throwing bottles at the security forces. This was followed by several more shots of stun grenades.
The law enforcement officers also used tear gas.
Later, most of the protesters in Tbilisi moved away from the parliament building on Rustaveli Boulevard. People occupied the area next to the legislature after special forces cleared part of Rustaveli Boulevard and allowed demonstrators to approach parliament. A little later, the security forces retreated to the building of the Ministry of the Interior.
Riot police used pepper spray, water cannons and rubber bullets in clashes with protesters late Tuesday to force them away from Rustaveli Boulevard, where parliament is located.
Georgia President Salome Zurabishvili, in a statement released Wednesday evening, called on Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri to stop the dispersal of the rally in Tbilisi and called the ongoing rally against the foreign agents law peaceful.
As reported by a correspondent of RIA Novosti, special forces periodically detain participants in the protest and clashes occur.
The exact number of detainees is not yet known, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet published official data. At the same time, Georgian media reported that more than 15 people were detained. The Ministry of Health announced that three police officers were hospitalized.