As G7 talks kicked off in Luca, Italy on Monday (April 10) dozens of protesters clashed with police as they tried to break through the security cordon into the walled Tuscan city.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised nations were meeting to put pressure on Russia to break its ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Police welded their batons and managed to push the anti-G7 demonstrators back, but Italian media reported that 5 or 6 police were bruised during the scuffles.

Besides Syria, the ministers will talk about growing tensions with North Korea, as the United States moves a navy strike group near the Korean peninsula amid concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.