Leaders of a pro-democracy student group in Hong Kong have postponed talks with the government after demonstrators were involved in scuffles with opponents.
The group said the government was failing to protect protesters.
Their supporters are angry at plans by China to vet election candidates and have been occupying parts of the city.
Hong Kong's leader offered talks to defuse the situation after the protesters called for his resignation.
But scuffles broke out on Thursday as people apparently angry with the disruption caused by the protests tried to dismantle tents and barricades.
'Broken promise'
The Hong Kong Federation of Students, which was invited to negotiations with the government on Wednesday, said in a statement it had "shelved" the talks. A time and place for the negotiations had never been confirmed.
"The government allowed the mafia to attack peaceful Occupy participants. It has cut off the path to a dialogue, and should be responsible for the consequences," it said.
"The government has not kept its promise. We have no choice but to shelve the talks."
It was not clear whether the statement reflected the position of other groups involved in the protest.
Occupy Central leader Benny Tai told the BBC they were still only considering a boycott of the talks. However, he said police were not protecting the demonstrators against attacks by their opponents and this situation could not continue.
"At this point it's very, very difficult to maintain any sense of dialogue if the government does not stop these things happening to peaceful protesters," he said.
There was no immediate response from the government to the postponement
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