Hong Kong’s government said it has withdrawn riot police from main streets where thousands of protesters were camped out in a massive civil disobedience campaign, and urged the crowds to disperse peacefully.

This comes after a violent weekend when police used pepper spray, tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of pro-democracy protesters demanding that China lift its election restrictions on Hong Kong.

In a statement, the government said ‘some major thoroughfares have been blocked by protesters, causing serious disruption to traffic’, reports The Straits Times.

‘Classes in Wan Chai District as well as Central and Western District have been suspended,’' it said.

The government called on the protesters to leave protest areas as soon as possible ‘for emergency vehicles to pass through and for the partial restoration of public transport services’.

‘Because citizens gathered on the street have calmed, riot police have been withdrawn,’ it added.

Key areas of the city remained at a standstill on Monday as the Occupy Central movement entered its second day and the defiant protesters, many of whom were students, refused to go home.

Like corpses, they were scattered across major roads, tired but still determined to ‘go on fighting’ by ‘occupying Hong Kong’.

BDST: 1437 HRS, SEP 29, 2014