Georgia on Tuesday said that 26 people, mostly protesters, were injured in another late-night massive pro-EU demonstration in the Caucasus country already gripped by a bitter political crisis. The standoff between riot police and mostly young protesters continued throughout the night into the early hours of Tuesday,

Georgian police fired tear gas to try to disperse thousands of pro-EU demonstrators on Monday, rallying in the centre of Tbilisi amid a deepening political crisis in the Black Sea nation.

The demonstrators are backed by Georgia's pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili, who has vowed to stay in office until fresh elections, despite her term being officially set to end.

Georgia's president said Monday that mass pro-EU protests involving tens of thousands of people showed no sign of stopping after police fired water cannon and tear gas on a fourth night of demonstrations.

Police in Georgia fired tear gas and water cannon Sunday on a fourth straight day of pro-EU protests that drew tens of thousands of people, as the prime minister rebuffed calls for new elections.

Many thousands of demonstrators gathered late on Saturday in Georgia's capital Tbilisi, building barricades, breaking windows and setting off fireworks outside parliament, in protest against the government which called off talks to join the EU.

The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, announced that she will remain in her position until her successor is chosen by a "legal parliament." "The illegal parliament cannot elect a new president,