Riot police in the capital of Georgia began clearing protesters from an entrance to the parliament building as they moved to break up a demonstration against a bill aimed at designating certain groups as foreign agents.
The police force late on April 16 mobilized water cannons to the scene and sprayed an unknown liquid at protesters after some tried to move beyond a cordon.
Officers, including some armed with shotguns, ordered protesters to disperse and deployed what appeared to be a crowd-control substance like pepper spray. Injured people were seen wiping their eyes after a colored liquid was sprayed, an RFE/RL correspondent at the scene reported.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that one employee of the ministry had been injured.
The ministry also called on demonstrators to obey the instructions from law enforcement officers and to refrain from violent actions and attacks on police officers.
"In the event that the participants of the rally continue their illegal actions, the Internal Affairs Ministry will use special measures provided for by law," the statement said.
The move to clear the demonstration came ahead of a discussion on the first reading of the bill scheduled to take place on April 17 at noon.
The controversial foreign agents bill has roiled the Caucasus nation as lawmakers from the ruling party on April 15 gave it an initial green light despite scuffles in parliament.
Thousands of people gathered outside the parliament building on April 15 urging authorities to scrap the bill that would force foreign-funded entities to register as foreign agents -- a move that many liken to similar legislation in Russia that has been used to severely restrict dissent and the activity of civil society groups.
Some of the protesters clashed with riot police deployed outside the parliament building late on April 15, the Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that 14 demonstrators were arrested and one police officer was injured "as a result of the protesters' violent actions."
Earlier, scuffles broke out in parliament after opposition lawmaker Aleko Elisashvili attacked a member of the ruling party as he tried to present the bill.
Elisashvili punched Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Georgian Dream party, sparking mayhem in the legislature that took several minutes to calm down.
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Thousands Protest, And Lawmakers Brawl, As Georgian 'Foreign Agents' Bill Reappears In Parliament
Mdinaradze appeared to be unharmed by the attack and after a short break was back heading the legal affairs committee session in parliament.
Mdinaradze said earlier this month that the Georgian Dream party planned to reintroduce a bill that would oblige noncommercial organizations and media outlets that receive foreign funding and are engaged in broadly defined political activities to report their activities to the authorities.
The legislation, which sparked mass protests when first introduced last year, causing the government to withdraw the bill, would also give wide oversight powers to the authorities and introduce potential sanctions for undefined criminal offences.
The new bill is identical to the one introduced and then withdrawn last year, Georgian Dream has said, except for one change: The term "foreign agent" is replaced by the more circumlocutious "organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power."
Georgia's opposition has called it the "Russian law," while the ruling party insists the bill is simply copied and pasted from U.S. legislation.
And its return bodes yet another bout of internal political strife, sharper pressure on the government's opponents, and yet more stress on Tbilisi's increasingly fragile relations with its Western partners.