Hundreds Protest in Charlottesville Against 2017 Deadly Rallies - Reports

Hundreds of left-wing campaigners held a rally outside the University of Virginia in the US eastern city of Charlottesville, where notorious Charlottesville protests began a year ago, local media reported.

This year's march around the university kicked off at around 07:00 p.m. (23:00 GMT) on Saturday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch daily reported.

In this Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, file photo, white nationalist demonstrators walk into the entrance of Lee Park surrounded by counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va.

Despite slight tensions between the demonstrators and police officers, who had been dispatched to the site of the rally, at the beginning of the demonstration, the protest had remained peaceful, the outlet added.

Meanwhile, the Charlottesville City Government wrote on Twitter that people also rallied in the Downtown Mall area.

On Friday, the authorities set up a special security area within the center of Charlottesville with two entry points for pedestrians in the anticipation of public events times to the 2017 rallies. Police have been dispatched to the area, the City Government said.