Missouri police confront new protests in Ferguson

New protests are again being held in Ferguson, Missouri over the fatal shooting of an African American teenager by a white police officer.

The new demonstrations come as the governor of Missouri has ordered National Guard soldiers to join the riot police amid mounting racial tension.

Riot police have clashed with protesters in Ferguson and several stores are being looted in the area of a convenience store.

Thousands of protesters approached a line of police shouting while face-to-face with the police officers. However, a group of people tried to keep the peace locked arms through positioning themselves between the more confrontational protesters and police force.

The family of the slain Michael Brown has appealed for calm. They said their son was not “perfect” but criticized a police attempt to “justify the execution-style murder.”

“The family have never said that Mike Brown was perfect,” said a lawyer representing them.

Michael Brown’s cousin, Eric Davis, said “Stay with us, we don’t want to see any violence on the streets. Please continue to peacefully protest.”

The killing of Brown sparked angry protests with police clamping down on protesters. The extent of the clashes was so great that the Amnesty International sent a team to Missouri to observe the unrest.

Steven Hawkins, executive director of Amnesty International USA, has said his organization had dispatched a 13-person delegation because there is an “escalating human rights crisis” there.

“We sent observers down because there was a need for Human rights observers, clearly there are violations of international human rights law and standards in terms of how the policing is being done on protests,” Hawkins said.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Ferguson to meet the FBI and other officials carrying out an independent federal investigation into Brown’s death.

A preliminary private autopsy has found that Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head.