Hong Kong, Nov 25 (IANS/EFE): At least 12 people were arrested in a police operation Tuesday to clear out pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district following multiple clashes between the police and demonstrators.

Hundreds of police were trying to control a stretch of a street for five hours where many demonstrators were refusing to abandon their protest.

Confrontations intensified in the afternoon after police gave a final warning to the protesters to clear out 100 metres of a Mong Kok street as ordered by the Hong Kong Supreme Court.

The police arrested many protesters and pushed the crowd towards the intersection of the street from where they continued to defy police warnings.

The eviction began early Tuesday morning and though initially the demonstrators did not physically oppose the move, they protested with slogans demanding universal suffrage in upcoming municipal elections.

Police continued with the eviction amid growing tension between the protesters and the authorities.

The court order authorised police to remove barricades in one of the streets occupied by the protesters, who for two months have been demanding the right to directly choose candidates in the 2017 municipal elections.

The court decision came after a lawsuit filed by two groups of taxi drivers and a bus company, which claimed that their businesses were suffering from the interruption of traffic in the area.

Police are expected to continue the eviction throughout the week with the removal of more barricades put up in the district.