DHAKA: Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun Ying said on Saturday evening he was willing to do what it takes to resolve the week-long Occupy Central protests that have now drawn violence.

‘The government and the police have the responsibility and determination to use whatever means necessary to return order to society,’ he said in a televised address, reports The Straits Times.

He also said the most pressing matter, apart from maintaining the peace, was to clear up the access roads to the central government offices so that 3,000 civil servants could start now work on Monday.

The area is now blockaded by protesters.

Distrust between Occupy Central protesters and authorities has once again spiralled up, with police accused of sitting on their hands while mobs attacked protesters.

This comes as proposed talks between the government and protest organisers are put on ice, meaning that there is no end in sight for the impasse - now one week long.

Violent clashes broke out in Mongkok between pro-democracy protesters and opponents on Friday afternoon and night in rare scenes of sustained street fights that saw hundreds of people exchanging punches, kicking and stomping on one another, resulting in bloodied heads and other injuries.

A smaller-scale wrangle broke out at Causeway Bay, the location of another protest site.

Police announced at 4.30am on Saturday that 19 had been arrested, eight of them suspected triad members. At least 18 people were injured, including six police officers.

BDST: 2023 HRS, OCT 04, 2014