ATHENS, June 28: Greek riot police with teargas and batons fought hooded youths near parliament on Tuesday as violence broke out at a rally against anti-austerity measures international lenders have demanded from the Athens government.

With Greece on the edge of bankruptcy, parliament is due to vote this week on a package of spending cuts, tax increases and privatisations agreed as part of a massive bailout aimed at averting the euro zone's first default.

In a boost to embattled Prime Minister George Papandreou, one of three deputies from his ruling Socialist party who had suggested they would oppose the bill said on Tuesday he had decided instead to support it.

“I have made the decision to vote for the plan because national interests are more important than our own dignity,” Thomas Robopoulos said.

Labour unions launched a 48-hour strike to protest the measures and more than 5,000 police were deployed to the centre of the capital to deal with the protests, with most attention focused on Syntagma Square in front of the parliament.

The rally was initially peaceful but by early afternoon hundreds of youths, many wearing gasmasks and scarves covering their faces, hurled masonry chipped off buildings in the square at riot police who responded with tear gas.

Officials said more than 20 police officers were injured by flying stones. One person was stabbed during fights between rival groups of young demonstrators, eight others were injured and dozens were treated for breathing troubles.

Eighteen people were detained and five were formally placed under arrest, police said.

Violence continued throughout the afternoon and protesters set fire to two communications vans with mobile telecoms transmitters, which they had apparently mistaken for TV trucks and sprayed with slogans attacking the media and banks.

As a crowd initially estimated at more than 20,000 thinned out, clouds of white smoke swirled above the square and police with shields and riot helmets stood by, occasionally launching charges to disperse a harder core of mainly young demonstrators. After night fell, thousands of peaceful demonstrators returned to Syntagma to chant insults at parliament, as they have done every night for over a month. A large group listened to a concert in the centre of the square while in the side streets small gangs of black-hooded youths hurled rocks at police, who responded sporadically with tear gas.

Transport, schools and other public services as well as many private businesses were shut as a result of the strike called by ADEDY, the union representing half a million civil servants, and GSEE, which represents 2 million private sector workers.—Reuters