In Pictures

In Pictures: Inside the besieged Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Photos show youths wandering the campus, with some preparing Molotov cocktails while others sleep on a gym floor.

Unwell and injured protesters wrapped in emergency thermal blankets leave the campus helped by medics (yellow vests) at the main entrance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom distri — Unwell and injured protesters wrapped in emergency thermal blankets leave the campus helped by medics at the main entrance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

Dozens of protesters in Hong Kong remain barricaded inside a besieged university campus for a fourth straight day as a violent standoff between pro-democracy demonstrators and police continues.

Protesters at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) said on Wednesday some 50 remained after hundreds had fled worsening conditions and following official warnings that police could fire live rounds to clear the area.

Photos showed youths wandering the campus, with some preparing Molotov cocktails while others slept on a gym floor.

The standoff has been the most intense and prolonged in nearly six months of unrest that began over a now-shelved bill to allow extraditions to China, which revived fears that Beijing was cutting into the city’s freedoms.

Carrie Lam, the Beijing-backed Hong Kong chief executive, on Tuesday called for the protesters to surrender, adding that those over 18 would face rioting charges, but minors would not be arrested.

Others were medically evacuated on stretchers overnight, and on Wednesday before dawn police chased down and arrested around a dozen students making a break for it.

Police said that since the siege began around 800 people had left the campus as of late Tuesday night.

The United Nations human rights office was watching the university situation with “deepening concern”, spokesman Rupert Colville said in Geneva.

The violent standoff between demonstrators and police at PolyU rippled overseas, with the United Nations calling for a peaceful resolution to the siege, while the US senate passed new legislation supporting protesters’ demands.

A gymnasium used by protesters as a dormitory is seen inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 20, 2019. - A dwindling number of exhausted pro-demo — A gymnasium used by protesters as a dormitory inside the PolyU campus. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

This general view shows debris inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus where protesters have barricaded themselves, in the Hung Hom district in Hong Kong on November 19, 2019. - A dwindling — Debris inside the campus where protesters have barricaded themselves. The standoff has been the most intense and prolonged in nearly six months of unrest. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

A general view shows a canteen inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 20, 2019. - A dwindling number of exhausted pro-democracy protesters barric — A canteen inside PolyU. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

A general view shows a statue and stuff in an entry area of a canteen inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 20, 2019. - A dwindling number of ex — Police said since the siege began around 800 people had left the campus as of late Tuesday night. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

Food left over by a protester is seen on a mat on the floor inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 20, 2019. - A dwindling number of exhausted pr — Protesters on Wednesday said around 50 remained inside PolyU after hundreds had fled deteriorating conditions. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

Protesters sleep on the floor of a parking lot inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 20, 2019. - A dwindling number of exhausted pro-democracy p — PolyU protesters resting on the floor. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]

Unwell and injured protesters wait to take ambulances to leave the campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 19, 2019. - A dwindling number of ex — Unwell and injured protesters wait to take ambulances to leave the campus. [Anthony Wallace/AFP]

A protester climbs down into a sewer entrance as he and others try to find an escape route from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong, early morning on November 19 — A protester climbs down into a sewer as he and others try to find an escape route from the campus. [Anthony Wallace/AFP]

Police detain protesters and students after they tried to flee outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 19, 2019. - A dwindling number of e — Police detain protesters and students after they tried to flee the campus. [Nicolas Asfouri/AFP]