Protests as Athens funeral held

Fresh clashes have erupted in Athens after the funeral of a teenager whose death has sparked four days of rioting across Greece.

Protesters battled police after the ceremony for Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15, who was shot on Saturday by police.

Earlier, youths confronted police outside parliament, as violence that has seen buildings torched and dozens injured showed no signs of abating.

Meanwhile, the opposition has called for the government to step down.

Tuesday's protests began early in the day. Schools were shut as thousands of teachers, schoolchildren and parents held a peaceful demonstration to protest against the killing.

See where unrest has spread

They marched towards parliament behind a large banner declaring: "Assassins, the government is the culprit."

Police used tear gas to disperse stone-throwing protesters

The situation escalated as hundreds of young people joined the protest, throwing stones and bottles at lines of riot police, who responded with tear gas.

In the afternoon thousands of mourners gathered for the teenager's funeral in a coastal suburb further south.

The ceremony was calm, but clashes were later reported outside the cemetery.

Police were using tear gas against dozens of youths who were throwing stones and setting fire to rubbish bins, reports said.

Violence was reported elsewhere in the country. In Thessaloniki, police were clashing with groups of young people following a protest march earlier in the day.

Two police officers have been charged in connection with Alexandros Grigoropoulos's death on Saturday, but results of a post-mortem to determine the trajectory of the bullet that killed him are not yet known.

The officer who fired says it was a ricochet from a warning shot but witnesses told Greek TV he fired directly at the teenager.

Lost confidence

Earlier, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis held talks with President Karolos Papoulias and opposition leaders in an attempt to reach a consensus on what action to take.

Mr Karamanlis, whose conservative party has a parliamentary majority of just one seat, has called for unity and vowed there will be no leniency in dealing with the rioters.

"No one has the right to use this tragic incident as an excuse for acts of violence," he said.

But after meeting Mr Karamanlis, socialist leader George Papandreou said Greeks had lost confidence in the conservative government.

"The only thing this government can offer is to resign and turn to the people for its verdict," said Mr

'Rage'

Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said the government would not put up with the violence, and scores of arrests have been made.

But appeals for calm have so far been largely ignored by the mostly young protesters, and plans as to how the violence should be contained remain unclear.

Police appear to be powerless to prevent rioters from attacking symbols of wealth and prestige in Athens, the BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports.

Protesters wielding petrol bombs set fire to banks, shops, hotels, vehicles, rubbish bins and even the city's giant Christmas tree in central Syntagma Square.

"Rage is what I feel for what has happened, rage," said a student taking part in the protests. "This cop who did it must see what it is to kill a kid and to destroy a life."

Violent clashes have been reported in towns and cities across the country, spreading to Rhodes and Crete on Monday. Police stations were attacked in Piraeus and Corfu.

No troops

Mr Karamanlis has blamed "extreme elements" for taking advantage of the situation to engage in vandalism and pledged to compensate damaged businesses.

Observers say a state of emergency may be imposed, giving the authorities special powers to clear the streets.

But there is no question of calling in troops, our correspondent says: Greece has bitter memories of military rule so seeing troops on streets would be beyond the pale.

Greece's ongoing violence has exacerbated public discontent at the country's stunted economic growth and high unemployment levels.

It comes ahead of a general strike planned for Wednesday over welfare reforms and economic policy.