11 injured in Bulgaria protests

Eleven people including five policemen have been injured in the Bulgarian capital Sofia as anti-government protesters fought running battles with riot police and vandalised buildings and vehicles late Monday, officials said.

In the latest wave of anger against the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov sparked by sharply higher electricity prices, demonstrations were also held in around a dozen other cities across the European Union's poorest member.

"Five policemen and six demonstrators needed medical attention but none of the injuries was serious," Valery Yordanov, Sofia chief of police, told state BNR radio on Tuesday.

Eleven protesters were held by police for hooliganism and vandalism, he said, after members of a crowd estimated by an AFP reporter and local media to number between 1,500 and 2,000 hurled stones at parliament buildings in Sofia.

Riot police with shields and batons were later deployed to disperse the crowd after it left the area around parliament to block major downtown streets for several hours.

The opposition Socialists meanwhile demanded early elections.

"We should hear from the premier tomorrow (Wednesday), and the best he could do is to table his resignation," Socialist party lawmaker Angel Naydenov ahead of a parliamentary vote on the government reshuffle due Wednesday.

Bulgaria's next general elections are scheduled for July.