Ljubljana - Police used a water canon and tear gas to disperse a large group of protesters rallying against the Covid pass mandate in front of Parliament House on Wednesday.

The protest started out peacefully in the afternoon, but towards nightfall the crowd started to push against Parliament House and several signal torches were thrown at the building.

Police in riot gear reacted by firing gas canisters at the crowd, which soon dispersed into the surrounding streets.

Smaller groups returned to the square and started throwing more torches, prompting the police to deploy a water cannon.

The protest was organised by several groups opposing vaccination, masks and the Covid pass mandate that entered into force today.

The groups are active mostly on Facebook and their spokespersons today decried the latest restrictions and called on the government and MPs to resign.