OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was escorted to safety as police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest outside a restaurant in Vancouver where he was dining, authorities said Wednesday.
A crowd of about 250 pro-Palestinian supporters waving flags and chanting for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war surrounded the venue in the city's Chinatown district on Tuesday evening.
Police said in a statement that 100 officers "assisted in controlling and dispersing the crowd, while the prime minister was escorted out of the restaurant."
One man was arrested for obstruction while another was held for assaulting an officer who was punched in the face and had her eyes gouged.
Vancouver police Sergeant Steve Addison told a news conference that "the actions of the protestors, such as blocking the lane behind the restaurant caused a concern."
Earlier, Trudeau was heckled at another restaurant owned by celebrity chef Vikram Vij in a different part of the Pacific coast city.
Videos shown by local media showed a handful of protestors entering Vij's restaurant and shouting at the prime minister to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
Trudeau said at an event earlier Tuesday that the killing "of women, of children, of babies" in the Israel-Hamas war must stop, sparking a strong rebuke from Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.--AFP