Hong Kong police and pro-democracy protestors have violently clashed for the second night in a row, as protestors returned to the streets to continue their three-week long protest.

Hundreds of police officers beat protestors with batons and fired pepper spray canisters in an attempt to push back crowds early on Sunday morning, according to an Al Jazeera report.

• Hong Kong protesters defy government ultimatum
• Huge Hong Kong protest gathers momentum

The student-led occupation of Hong Kong’s central business district has seen hundreds of thousands of people flood the streets over the past month.

The protest has reignited after a lull following the Hong Kong government’s announced of a curfew.

Hong Kong protesters show again that police getting tough only spurs more people to protest. http://t.co/iPBEQwDTnT pic.twitter.com/vjf5JEkn3D

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) October 19, 2014

At least 20 injured in new wave of #HongKong protests http://t.co/fGiutkbqFo pic.twitter.com/dHcHfX1Y3O — RT (@RT_com) October 19, 2014

An attempt by police to clear demonstrators blocking one of Hong Kong’s major thoroughfares on Friday morning reportedly backfired, with thousands of protestors returning on Saturday morning to outnumber police.

The violent clash comes ahead of planned talks on Tuesday between protest leaders and Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader Leung Chun-ying, with unrest in the territory over China’s attempt to influence elections in Hong Kong.