Protest-scarred Hong Kong struggled to recover on Monday after scores of people were arrested in violent clashes overnight and as the last British governor of the Chinese-ruled city warned that people could be killed.

“Before long, unless we are very, very lucky, people are going to get killed, people are going to be shot,” former British governor Chris Patten told Sky News.

“The idea that with public order policing you send police forces out with live ammunition is preposterous.”

After four months of massive and sometimes violent protests, two protesters have been shot, one in the chest and one in the leg.

Authorities said the shootings were not intentional but occurred during skirmishes between police and protesters.

Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Show all 32 1 /32 Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A protester throws a stone into a building at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on 11 November Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Police patrol the streets of Hong Kong the day after an officer shot a protester during a protest on 11 November EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Riot police stand guard during a protest against police brutality in Hong Kong on 27 October EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters carry traffic cones to build a barricade during anti-government protests in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on 11 November Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters use obstacles and bricks to block a road in Hong Kong on 11 November AP Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Graffiti on a window smashed by student protesters in Hong Kong Polytechnic University AP Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters carry US and British flags during a demonstration in Hong Kong on 11 November Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A protester throws a bottle of water as he is shrouded in tear gas during a demonstration in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong on 27 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Journalists take pictures of police officers as they move to disperse protesters in Hong Kong on 27 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures An man lies injured after being attacked by protesters who suspected him of being an undercover police officer on 27 October EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A man runs among tear gas during a protest in Hong Kong on 27 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters gather on a field in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong on 27 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Pro-democracy protesters turn away from a fire lit outside the Causeway Bay Mass Rapid Transit (MTR) station in Hong Kong on 4 October Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures People rest near rows of riot police officers during a protest in Mong Kok, Hong Kong on 27 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Pro-democracy protesters hold umbrellas as police fire tear gas at them ouside Tai Koo MTR station in Hong Kong on 3 October Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Hong Kong police fire a water cannon from the central government office at protesters during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on October 1 AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters burn a Chinese national flag during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 1 October AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters remove signs celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China during a mass rally in Hong Kong on 1 October AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Cardboard boxes set alight by protesters burn in the streets of Hong Kong during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 1 October EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures An anti-China banner has been placed in a barricade during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 1 October EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A pro-democracy protester runs away after police fire a tear gas canister in Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin district on October 4 Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters run after police fire tear gas during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 4 October AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Pro-democracy protester take cover after police fire a tear gas canister in Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin district on 4 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures The rally comes after months of protests on the streets of Hong Kong which began in oppposition to a proposed extradition bill EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures The extradition bill would have allowed the government to extradite people to China if they were facing certain criminal charges AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Opposition to the bill stems from the fear that the Chinese government would abuse this power for political or commercial reasons EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters soon came to demand greater freedom and universal suffrage under the One Country, Two Systems principle AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters are wearing black to symbolise opposition to China as they take to the streets in a "day of grief" while the Chinese state celebrates the 70th anniversary of its communist founding AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A protester charges forward holding umbrellas as a mass rally breaks out in violence in Hong Kong on 1 October AFP/Getty Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A protester pours water on a tear gas canister fired by police during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 1 October Reuters Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures A protester carries a vandalised Chinese flag through Hong Kong during a mass rally on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 1 October EPA Hong Kong protesters out in force after months of turmoil: In pictures Protesters carry a banner that denounces the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on 1 October EPA

Many protesters, police and journalists have been injured in clashes, with police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, some of whom throw bricks and petrol bombs.

A journalist working with Hong Kong’s public broadcaster was recovering in the hospital on Monday after being hit by a petrol bomb on Sunday night.

On Monday, Hong Kong’s metro rail system was only partially functioning, with many stations torched in protests, and many shops and Chinese banks extensively damaged.

The Sunday night protests, the second night of violence since the imposition of colonial-era emergency laws on Friday, saw scores of protesters arrested and the first warning from Chinese military personnel stationed in the territory.

Tens of thousands of protesters, many families with children, marched peacefully through the centre of Hong Kong on Sunday, wearing face masks in defiance of the emergency powers that threaten them with a maximum of one year in prison for hiding their faces.

However, police fired tear gas and used baton charges in an attempt to disperse protesters across the Asian financial hub, and the rallies deteriorated into running clashes as night fell.

Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, has said the face mask ban was necessary to end the violence by militant activists. But the move has been criticised by human rights groups and the United Nations, and has sparked more violent protests.

“She would have to be crazy to be making these decisions on her own without being pressured into them. The face mask business, absolutely madness,” said Mr Patten, who handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

“I fear for the future, unless Carrie Lam actually intervenes and understands the importance of dialogue,” he added.

The protests have plunged the former British colony into its worst political crisis in decades and pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese president Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

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The Hong Kong government said in a statement early on Monday, a public holiday in the city, that “public safety has been jeopardised and the public order of the whole city is being pushed to the verge of a very dangerous situation”.

What started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has grown into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s increasing grip on the city, which protesters say undermines the “one country, two systems” status promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

China dismisses such accusations, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.

Further protests are planned on Monday evening.

Hong Kong’s rail operator, MTR Corp, said on Monday that because of “serious vandalism”, most of the stations in the network were temporarily closed.

That included typically busy stations such as Admiralty and Wan Chai, around the city’s government offices and bar district.

MTR’s announcement followed an unprecedented shutdown on Saturday and minimal operations on Sunday, which largely paralysed much of the city.

The entire network, which typically carries about five million passengers a day, will shut at 6pm on Monday, more than four hours earlier than normal, to allow for repairs, it said.

Grocery stores that had shut early on Sunday were mostly open by Monday morning. Many businesses and stores have had to close repeatedly during the protests, and Hong Kong now faces its first recession in a decade.

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China’s Hong Kong military garrison warned protesters on Sunday they could be arrested for targeting its barracks with lasers.

Chinese military personnel raised a yellow flag with the arrest warning written in large letters, a Reuters witness said, the first direct interaction between the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and protesters.

The protesters eventually dispersed.

The PLA has remained in barracks since the protests started, leaving police to handle the demonstrations, but the PLA’s top brass has warned violence is “absolutely impermissible”.