Bursts of tear gas exploded in downtown Athens as police continued to battle hundreds of young self-styled anarchists rioting Sunday and Monday in major cities across Greece. In a fury over the death of a teenager killed by police on Saturday, angry demonstrations had not abated by late Sunday night. "It at first seemed like it was calming down today, but then at 5 p.m. Athens time it kicked off again," according to Joel Brown, a CNN senior press officer visiting Athens. "There are lots of burning bins and debris in the street and a huge amount of tear gas in the air, which we got choked with on the way back to our hotel," he said.

Tourists holed up in downtown Athens hotels were told by hotel staff not to leave their rooms as police fanned out across the city, Brown said. The U.S. and British embassies issued warnings to employees and tourists on Sunday, instructing them to avoid downtown Athens and other major cities until rioting subsides.