Iceland protesters clash with police
The protests took place near parliament in the country's capital city, Reykjavik
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Sunday, 23, Nov 2008 08:02
Protesters in Iceland have clashed with police during a demonstration against the country's economic woes.
Over the past year Iceland's currency, the Krona, has fallen by 50 per cent as the Scandinavian country nationalised its three biggest banks to prevent their collapse.
It has also received emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its neighbours to help it deal with the financial turmoil.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside parliament on Saturday demanding government resignations over the worsening economic climate.
A small group then broke off and headed towards the city's main police station to call for the release of a man who had been detained after failing to pay a fine over previous protests.
Police used pepper spray as the group tried to storm the building and managed to bring the crowd under control. The detained man was later released.
Iceland was the first country to seek financial assistance from the IMF as the turmoil in the credit markets in October made trading conditions difficult for the country's biggest financial institutions.
The UK government used anti-terror legislation to freeze money deposited by UK savers in Icelandic banks in order to ensure that their money was protected.