Protesters block streets near APEC Summit, confront attendees headed to event

A large protest near the APEC Summit conference in San Francisco Wednesday morning was blocking streets and forcing some attendees to run a gauntlet of protesters on their way to the event.

Protesters numbering in the hundreds began rallying at Market and Powell Streets shortly after 7 a.m. and moved a block south to 5th and Mission Streets, a group held a "die-in" to call attention to what they say are corporations profiting from regional conflicts in the Asia Pacific region; other protesters railed against the U.S. support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

The protest was organized by the No to APEC Coalition and was targeting the APEC CEO Summit at the city's Moscone Center, a separate event held in conjunction with the larger APEC 2023 conference of world leaders, ministers and officials. According to the coalition, corporations and their CEOs are "directly responsible for the current conditions of extreme economic inequality, climate catastrophe, environmental plunder, and war."

A number of conference attendees were confronted and jostled on their way to the conference at the nearby Moscone Center, with protesters yelling "Shame! Shame!" as they made their way past the crowd.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said the Market St. protests have forced all inbound Market St. routes to be switched back at 6th Street. Commuters are being urged to use the Muni Metro subway between Van Ness and Embarcadero.

This is a breaking news update. More information to be added as available.

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