ATHENS, March 5 (Reuters) - Greek police used tear gas to disperse a small group of youths near the parliament building during protests against government cutbacks, Reuters eye witnesses said on Friday.
About 50-60 demonstrators had been throwing stones at riot police and engaged in scuffles with other protesters, the eye witnesses said.
A police spokesman confirmed the "limited" use of tear gas, saying that a group of people had tried to disrupt protesters and damage the marble facade of a hotel.
Police said there were about 12,000 protesters on the streets, the majority behaving peacefully.
The spokesman said that the head of the main private sector GSEE union was slightly injured in the scuffles and taken to hospital.
Unions called impromptu work stoppages and protesters marched on parliament on Friday in protest at 4.8 billion euros worth of new spending cuts and tax rises.
(Reporting by Yannis Behrakis and Tatiana Fragou; Writing by Paul Hoskins; Editing by Matthew Jones)