Mexican police detain hundreds of students after a protest turns violent in the colonial city of Morelia.

Authorities say students were demanding access to university hostels over the weekend when masked men upped the ante by spraying gas on a police vehicle and setting it ablaze with Molotov cocktails.

The students were calling for government support after some of their own were evicted from three hostels.

Some of the protesters holed up in buildings set their mattresses on fire, prompting fire crews to rush to the scene.

The state governor insisted the evictions were legal.

Jessica Gray, Reuters