US National Guard Intervenes to Quell Missouri Protests

Police hold a line as they try to disperse demonstrators who continue to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, USA, 17 August 2014. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has signed an order sending in the National Guard to help deescalate the situation in the town of Ferguson.

Unrest sparked in Ferguson after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot by police on August 9 after allegedly taking part in a robbery.

A police chief is nevertheless quoted by the BBC as saying that just before the incident Brown was stopped by an officer after walking down the middle of the street disrupting traffic.

Demonstrations and clashes with angry crowds have led to two consecutive nights of curfew in the town.

Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails and bottles at security forces and were attacked with stun grenades in response, according to police officials.   

The US National Guard is a group of voluntary reservists which has structures in ever US state and territory.

An autopsy of Michael Brown is yet to yield official results, but some reports cited by USA Today suggest the teenager was shot at least six times, two of them in the head.

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