TUZLA (Bosnia-Herzegovina): Police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters who threw stones at the building of the local government in this northern city of Tuzla, demanding action against owners of four former state-owned companies who filed for bankruptcy after they were privatised.

The emergency service 13 people sought medical help after the protest on Thursday.

The protests, which first began on Tuesday, have also spread in the capital, Sarajevo, and two other cities. The four former state-owned companies, which included furniture and washing powder factories, employed most of the population of Tuzla.

After they were privatised, contracts obliged them to invest in them and make them profitable. But the owners sold the assets, stopped paying workers and filed for bankruptcy.—AP