What’s behind the riots that have been setting parts of Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki in Greece ablaze? On Saturday, 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos threw a firebomb at a police car in the Exarchia district of Athens and was shot to death by authorities. Violence by youths in the region is generally attributed to left-wing activism or growing dissatisfaction with gaps between rich and poor.

More on the current riots from CNN:

“‘It at first seemed like it was calming down today, but then at 5 p.m. Athens time it kicked off again,’ according to Joel Brown, a CNN senior press officer visiting Athens. ‘There are lots of burning bins and debris in the street and a huge amount of tear gas in the air, which we got choked with on the way back to our hotel,’ he said.


Tourists holed up in downtown Athens hotels were told by hotel staff not to leave their rooms as police fanned out across the city, Brown said.


The U.S. and British embassies issued warnings to employees and tourists on Sunday, instructing them to avoid downtown Athens and other major cities until rioting subsides.


The police officer who fired the fatal shot has been charged with ‘manslaughter with intent’ and suspended from duty, police said, adding that a second police officer was arrested Saturday on criminal accessory charges.


Demonstrators barricaded city streets Sunday in Athens and Thessaloniki and hurled petrol bombs as they battled with police, who fought back with tear gas in the second day of rioting.”