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                   Protesters, Police in Standoff in Ferguson

   by VOA News

   Protesters and police engaged in a tense standoff late Monday in
   Ferguson, Missouri, amid renewed tensions linked to the shooting death
   of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.

   Police fired stun grenades and tear gas at protesters who gathered on
   the streets of Ferguson, which had descended into chaos following
   peaceful protests.

   CNN reported that Molotov cocktails were thrown in the direction of
   heavily armored police, and that gunshots were fired. Many protesters
   appeared to be defying orders from police to disperse.

   Television footage showed police leading one of the protesters away in
   handcuffs.

   National Guard troops arrived in Ferguson earlier Monday to bolster
   police forces following days of violent protests.

   Police and demonstrators also clashed in Ferguson late Sunday, when
   police in body armor and gas masks, accompanied by armored vehicles,
   fired tear gas at protesters marching toward them. Police said at least
   two of the protesters were wounded by shots fired from within a crowd
   of demonstrators.

   A curfew in Ferguson was lifted Monday after being enforced the
   previous two nights.

   On Monday, President Barack Obama said U.S. Attorney General Eric
   Holder will travel to Ferguson on Wednesday to get an update on the
   federal probe into the shooting death of the black teenager,
   18-year-old Michael Brown.

   Obama said Holder will meet with Department of Justice and FBI
   officials on the federal, independent civil rights investigation into
   the August 9 killing of Brown. Holder will also meet with community
   leaders on efforts to restore peace and calm to the town outside the
   city of St. Louis.

   The president said while a vast majority of people are protesting
   peacefully, he urged the "small minority" of demonstrators to "not give
   into anger by looting or carrying guns or attacking police." Obama said
   such actions only serve to heighten tensions and chaos and undermine
   "rather than advance justice."  He also said "there is no excuse for
   excessive force by police" or any action that denies the rights of
   those peacefully protesting.

   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on
   authorities in Ferguson to use restraint and uphold the rights to
   peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

   The appeal for calm came as an independent autopsy showed Brown was
   shot at least six times on August 9, including two bullets to the top
   of his head.

   Attorneys for the family of Michael Brown said Monday the preliminary
   autopsy shows the unarmed black teen was "trying to surrender" when
   Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot him in the middle of a Ferguson
   street.

   Wilson is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/protesters-police-in-standoff-in-ferguson/2418080.html