A man reportedly shot by police at a student rally in Port Moresby is carried by three others.

Police in Port Moresby have opened fire on university students protesting against Papua New Guinea's Government, injuring at least 17 people.

Key points: Students say police fired shots when students refused to allow the president of the student council to be arrested

Student Christopher Kipalan says police still chasing and shooting at students in city's suburbs

Students were protesting against PM Peter O'Neill's handling of corruption allegations

The injured, one of whom had a gunshot wound to the head, were among a crowd of students trying to march to the national Parliament to continue a long-running protest against Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

There are conflicting reports of the number of injured, with an opposition member reportedly telling the country's Parliament that four people were killed.

The PNG Government said claims of deaths were false, adding that five students presented to Port Moresby General Hospital after the confrontation but all were in a stable condition.

Rioting and looting have been reported in several parts of PNG since the unrest began, including in the PNG Highland cities of Goroka and Mt Hagen, and in Lae on the north coast.

The trouble broke out when police stopped the students from marching on the Parliament and began shooting into the crowd, according to students at the scene.

Witnesses said officers then began attacking protesters, punching and kicking them.

Government advisers said it was not clear whether police had fired warning shots or fired directly into the crowd.

Warning: This story contains graphic images.

Police also reportedly fired tear gas to disperse an angry mob gathered at Port Moresby General Hospital.

There are other reports of fighting and looting in parts of the city, as well as a truck and a building at the university being set on fire.

Port Moresby General Hospital said 10 students had been admitted. A hospital official said after the injured were brought in, clashes erupted between police and members of the public outside.

"Now there is a very big clash with the public and with the police just outside the Port Moresby General Hospital," the hospital official told Reuters by telephone, adding: "There is also shooting going on, open gunfire."

One student at UPNG, Stacey Yalo, said people on campus were hiding from police.

"The situation is really tense and everyone is so confused right now," she said.

"It is coming to a point where they are actually targeting students as if they're criminals. They're shooting at them. They're out here to shoot and kill."

Student leader Christopher Kipalan, the chairman of the UPNG Forum, said police were still chasing and shooting at protesting students in the suburbs of Port Moresby.

"Police are trying to shoot the civilians plus the students," he said.

"So many casualties. I can not confirm [how many] because I am on the run, can you understand that? I am seeing civil unrest."

Another student, Gerald Peni, said police "fired shots directly at the crowd ... and many of the students fell, they got injured".

Hubert Namani, a lawyer and business leader, said public transport had been halted and people were fleeing the streets.

"People are looting and rioting and sort of revolting, so the police are now caught trying to manage all of that," he told Reuters by phone from Port Moresby.

"All of the businesses are closing down, I've closed off my offices and sent everybody off for half the day."

Australia calls for calm

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had spoken to Australia's High Commissioner to PNG, Bruce Davis, about the shootings.

"I know students have been shot but we are still trying to determine whether there have been deaths and how many have been injured," she said.

"We call on all sides for calm to deescalate the tensions and certainly call on all sides to respect the peaceful and lawful right to protest.

The Federal Government has confirmed all of the Australian Federal Police officers deployed in PNG have been accounted for.

The students have been protesting for five weeks against Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's handling of corruption allegations and management of the economy.

They said about 1,000 of them had tried to board buses at 7:00am to hold a peaceful demonstration outside the PNG Parliament, but were stopped by police.

Eric Tlozek in Port Moresby: Students said they were gathering to take buses from the university campus where they have been protesting for five weeks to the national Parliament which, is sitting in Port Moresby today.



They said police stopped them from gathering and taking the buses so they decided to walk instead and it was then that they had a confrontation with the armed police officers.



They said a large number of police blocked the road in a line and demanded they hand over the student union president to be arrested.



It was when the students refused to do that that tensions escalated. The students say they were unarmed and had their hands in the air but there was an argument between the leaders of the students and police and they said police then fired directly into the crowd.



I'm told they fired tear gas but there are also witnesses who say they fired live ammunition and that a number of students were shot and I have seen photos of students reportedly shot.



It was then that police moved in amongst the crowd, apparently physically beating, punching and kicking students and also some members of the media who were there to cover the student protest.

When they tried to march to Parliament instead, they said a line of police blocked their path and demanded they hand over the student union president for arrest.

The students refused and said police then opened fire directly into the crowd.

The acting chancellor of UPNG, Dr Nicholas Mann, told Pacific Beat he did not know the full details of what happened.

"I understand that police have not given them the clearance or approval to do [march on Parliament], so when there is defiance of lawful instruction there is bound to be consequences," he said.

But Ms Yalo said the march had been approved by authorities.

"It was kind of confusing because the previous day they said it was OK," she said.

Albert Schram, the vice-chancellor of PNG University of Technology in the country's second largest city, Lae, said about 2,000 students and staff had been locked on campus with a police car at the gates.

He told Pacific Beat the police fired in the air when students pushed on the gates, but added the situation remained calm.

Prime Minister announces inquiry, condemns 'agitators'

In a statement, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said his government will undertake an inquiry into the "underlying reasons" for student unrest.

The government has maintained the protests are being funded from outside the university's student body, and has singled out the country's opposition for criticism.

"The people behind these protests have political agendas. Members of the Opposition have been engaging with students ... The blood of the injured students is on the hands of those members and their supporters," Mr O'Neill's statement said.

Meanwhile PNG's police minister Robert Atiyafa said any damage to property in response to the incident will lead to charges being laid.

"Any student who has broken the law will feel the full force of the law. Their actions are very foolish and I think there are several students who will have thrown their education down the drain through their actions today," Mr Atiyafa said in a statement.

The statement said the situation in Port Moresby has now calmed, and "people are going about their normal business."

ABC/Reuters