A large pro-Palestinian march has kicked off in London following scuffles nearby between far-right protesters and police, who launched a major operation to avert clashes between the two rival groups, AFP reports.

As they gathered at the start point, pro-Palestinian protesters could be heard shouting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a rallying cry which is viewed by many Jews as antisemitic and a call for Israel’s eradication.

The scuffles between police and the far-right counter-protesters took place close to the Cenotaph war memorial earlier on Saturday, where some of the counter-protesters chanted: “We want our country back.”

Bottles were later thrown at police by members of right-wing groups in a separate incident in Chinatown, about a mile north of the war memorial, police said.