AKIPRESS.COM - Police in Hong Kong have clashed with pro-democracy protesters as they tried to clear an underpass near the city government headquarters.

Reports say hundreds of police officers wearing riot gear used pepper spray to disperse the protesters, arresting dozens of people in the process.

At a briefing before the clashes, police said they had to clear Lung Wo Road as it was a major thoroughfare.

Demonstrators have occupied parts of Hong Kong for more than two weeks, reports BBC.

The protesters, a mix of students and a pro-democracy group called Occupy Central, are demanding fully free elections in the next vote for the territory's leader.

China, which has control over Hong Kong, says residents can vote - but it will vet which candidates are eligible to stand.

It is the third day of operations that police say are necessary to ease traffic disruption, but which they insist are not aimed at clearing the protesters.

Their new advance came hours after protesters blockaded the underpass after being cleared out of other areas of the city on Tuesday.

Local television networks broadcast live footage of scuffles, showing police arresting many protesters whose hands were tied with plastic cuffs.