Hong Kong protesters have clashed with police and fought off a group of men armed with poles as the city’s political unrest continues.

A citywide strike accompanied by rallies in seven districts descended into chaos on Monday evening as thousands of protesters fanned out across the city, occupying roads, disrupting traffic, and vandalising police stations and other public buildings.

Riot police fired teargas, rubber bullets, sponge grenades and pepper spray on protesters in at least seven locations, including a main area near the government headquarters. Residential neighbourhoods were shrouded with clouds of teargas and residents were seen yelling at police or hurrying away.

Quick guide What are the Hong Kong protests about? Show Hide Why are people protesting? The protests were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the Communist party controls the courts, but have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement. Public anger – fuelled by the aggressive tactics used by the police against demonstrators – has collided with years of frustration over worsening inequality and the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive, densely populated cities. The protest movement was given fresh impetus on 21 July when gangs of men attacked protesters and commuters at a mass transit station – while authorities seemingly did little to intervene. Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment rather than by direct elections.

Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands are met, such as the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested and a permanent withdrawal of the bill. Lam announced on 4 September that she was withdrawing the bill. Why were people so angry about the extradition bill? Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong has grown in recent years, as activists have been jailed and pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from running or holding office. Independent booksellers have disappeared from the city, before reappearing in mainland China facing charges. Under the terms of the agreement by which the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997, the semi-autonomous region was meant to maintain a “high degree of autonomy” through an independent judiciary, a free press and an open market economy, a framework known as “one country, two systems”. The extradition bill was seen as an attempt to undermine this and to give Beijing the ability to try pro-democracy activists under the judicial system of the mainland. How have the authorities responded? Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation. Meanwhile police have violently clashed directly with protesters, repeatedly firing teargas and rubber bullets. Beijing has ramped up its accusations that foreign countries are “fanning the fire” of unrest in the city. China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi has ordered the US to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any form”. Lily Kuo and Verna Yu in Hong Kong

In a predominately pro-Beijing neighbourhood, North Point, a group of men armed with wooden rods began beating protesters, in scenes reminiscent of an attack on commuters last month in Yuen Long by suspected gang members.

One witness, a 33-year-old hotel employee who only wanted to give his surname, Cheung, said a group of about 20 men with wooden rods, some in white T-shirts, had approached the protesters. “Both sides were shouting at each other and they rushed toward us and beat us … hitting with wooden rods and eventually their fists,” he said.

Earlier in the day, two taxis and a private car drove through crowds of protesters who had set up roadblocks, injuring at least one person. In Sha Tin, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, protesters grabbed bricks they had dug up and chased after a taxi that had narrowly missed running over demonstrators.

Play Video 1:07 Hong Kong protests: fights break out and police fire teargas – video

In a statement on Monday evening, the police condemned the “violent acts in various locations” and said they were using minimal force to disperse protesters.

Protesters threw bricks, shattering windows of a police dormitory in Wong Tai Sin, a working-class district that has been the site of serious clashes between police and residents and protesters for the last three nights. One group attempted to break down the gate to the compound while others shone lasers into the building.

The Hong Kong protests are putting China on a collision course with the west | Simon Tisdall Read more

“The government is ignoring us. You might say what we are doing is violent, but I think it’s time the government pays attention to us,” said Herry Tsui, 25, from Wong Tai Sin. “They are so angry and keep firing teargas at us. We are just trying to protect where we live.”

It is the ninth week of consecutive mass protests in Hong Kong, which is facing its most serious political crisis since the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997.

The protests, initially over an extradition bill to send suspects to China, have turned into a broader political movement for the semi-autonomous city. Protesters and other supporters are demanding the protection of freedoms promised under the terms of the handover, a policy known as “one country, two systems”, as well as accountability from the Hong Kong government, which ultimately answers to Beijing.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A protester at a rally in Tamar Park, Hong Kong. Photograph: Chan Long Hei/EPA

In recent weeks, the movement has been fuelled by anger at the police for their tactics towards young protesters, often armed with just umbrellas, walking sticks and makeshift shields. Authorities appear to be taking harsher measures after protesters shifted their tactics by using guerrilla-style “flashmob” protests to evade capture by the police.

The police had detained 82 people by the early evening, bringing the total number of arrests since protests began in June to more than 500. Police said the youngest person arrested was 13 and the oldest 76. Last week, 44 were charged with rioting, a crime that could mean up to 10 years in prison.

The police condemned protesters for using petrol bombs, slingshots and bricks as weapons.

“Things are getting more serious now, and more violent. The government is not listening and that is unacceptable,” said Chun Yee, 28, a piano teacher who joined hundreds of protesters who had taken over a mall in Sha Tin, where protesters and police clashed weeks ago.

Quick guide Democracy under fire in Hong Kong since 1997 Show Hide Hong Kong’s democratic struggles since 1997 1 July 1997: Hong Kong, previously a British colony, is returned to China under the framework of “one country, two systems”. The “Basic Law” constitution guarantees to protect, for the next 50 years, the democratic institutions that make Hong Kong distinct from Communist-ruled mainland China. 2003: Hong Kong’s leaders introduce legislation that would forbid acts of treason and subversion against the Chinese government. The bill resembles laws used to charge dissidents on the mainland. An estimated half a million people turn out to protest against the bill. As a result of the backlash, further action on the proposal is halted. 2007: The Basic Law stated that the ultimate aim was for Hong Kong’s voters to achieve a complete democracy, but China decides in 2007 that universal suffrage in elections for the chief executive cannot be implemented until 2017. Some lawmakers are chosen by business and trade groups, while others are elected by vote. In a bid to accelerate a decision on universal suffrage, five lawmakers resign. But this act is followed by the adoption of the Beijing-backed electoral changes, which expand the chief executive’s selection committee and add more seats for lawmakers elected by direct vote. The legislation divides Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, as some support the reforms while others say they will only delay full democracy while reinforcing a structure that favors Beijing. 2014: The Chinese government introduces a bill allowing Hong Kong residents to vote for their leader in 2017, but with one major caveat: the candidates must be approved by Beijing. Pro-democracy lawmakers are incensed by the bill, which they call an example of “fake universal suffrage” and “fake democracy”. The move triggers a massive protest as crowds occupy some of Hong Kong’s most crowded districts for 70 days. In June 2015, Hong Kong legislators formally reject the bill, and electoral reform stalls. The current chief executive, Carrie Lam, widely seen as the Chinese Communist party’s favoured candidate, is hand-picked in 2017 by a 1,200-person committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites. 2019: Lam pushes amendments to extradition laws that would allow people to be sent to mainland China to face charges. The proposed legislation triggers a huge protest, with organisers putting the turnout at 1 million, and a standoff that forces the legislature to postpone debate on the bills. After weeks of protest, often meeting with violent reprisals from the Hong Kong police, Lam announced that she would withdraw the bill. Photograph: Dale de la Rey/AFP

The clashes, which continued late into the night on Monday, came after civil servants, drivers, teachers, construction workers and others missed work to join rallies around the city – the first general strike in Hong Kong for more than 50 years. Swaths of the city were paralysed, more than 200 flights were cancelled and several lines of the MTR, the rail network serving Hong Kong, were suspended.

“I am here to support the youngsters. They fight really hard for Hong Kong’s freedom,” said Camille Lam, 28, who stayed away from her administrative job on Monday.

As the strike got under way, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, addressed journalists after a two-week absence from public view, giving remarks that further angered protesters and brought more out to the rallies. Lam condemned protesters for damaging Hong Kong’s economy and stability.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protesters react after teargas was fired by police outside the central government complex in Hong Kong. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

“Such extensive disruptions in the name of certain demands or uncooperative movement have seriously undermined Hong Kong law and order and are pushing our city, the city we all love, and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation,” Lam said.

Joel Tse, a 25-year-old advertising industry professional, said: “I want Carrie Lam to come out and fix the problem, not give us some bullshit.”

He said he had been on the fence about whether to join the strike. But after watching the chief executive’s press conference he had decided to join the thousands dressed in black, the signature colour of the protests, at Tamar Park in Admiralty, near government offices.

Others who went to work said they still supported the protesters and their demands: that the extradition bill in question be withdrawn, and that an independent commission be set up to investigate police behaviour over the last two months.

“This is a last resort,” said Cindy Chan, waiting in a long bus queue after severe delays on her local railway line. “The government doesn’t listen to the opinions of the people and later you can see it’s getting worse and worse,” she said.