Georgia says protesters injured as country braces for more pro-EU demos

Georgia on Tuesday said that 26 people, mostly protesters, were injured in another late-night massive pro-EU demonstration in the Caucasus country already gripped by a bitter political crisis.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Tbilisi on Monday night in a fifth consecutive day of huge protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Protesters accuse the party of trying to bring Tbilisi back into Moscow's orbit and are infuriated by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's announcement last week that the government would shelve talks on EU accession until 2028.

The standoff between riot police and mostly young protesters continued throughout the night into the early hours of Tuesday, with police using tear gas against hundreds of demonstrators who responded by throwing fireworks.

Georgia's health ministry said "26 individuals, including 23 protesters and three representatives of the ministry of internal affairs" — a reference to law enforcement officers — were taken to medical facilities after the latest protest on Monday.

"None of the injuries are life threatening," it added.

The ministry also said that some of the injured "remain under medical supervision".

Some Western countries have criticised Tbilisi for an excessive police response to the demonstrations, with UN rights chief Volker Turk on Monday saying that he was concerned about the "disproportionate" use of force by law enforcement.

Nato chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday slammed as "deeply concerning" the situation in Georgia, condemning "unequivocally" the reports of violence.

The mostly young protesters accuse Georgian Dream of acting on Russian orders and fear the ex-Soviet country will end up back under Russian influence.

"We want freedom and we do not want to find ourselves in Russia," 21-year-old protester Nika Maghradze, said.

Georgia has seen several waves of mass protests against Georgian Dream — in power for more than a decade — this year, with a political crisis deepening since its contested October election.

The opposition and the country's pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili have accused Georgian Dream of rigging the election, with several Western countries also questioning its result.