Rival sports fans clash in Greece

ATHENS, May 29 (AFP) - Hundreds of sports fans fought a pitched battle in the central Greek city of Lamia on Saturday, injuring at least nine people and forcing officials to suspend a handball match, reports said.

The clashes broke out in the early morning between fans of Athens club AEK and supporters of PAOK, from the northern city of Thessaloniki, damaging shops and sending people scurrying for cover as police fired tear gas into the fray.

"The situation was out of control," a city resident told state television NET. "The fans were throwing Molotov cocktails, bricks and chairs at each other," another man said.

Six people were hurt in the city clashes, including a local woman taken to hospital with breathing trouble after police used tear gas to disperse the fans, news reports said.

Reports said around 500 fans were involved in the incident, smashing up at least five shops, a car and a sales kiosk, and setting fire to garbage bins.

Police said five people had been arrested and that three police officers were injured but did not specify the number of fans involved.