Greek police are bracing for more violent protests in Athens on Friday, twelve days after clashes between protesters and police began.

Demonstrators outraged by the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy charged at riot forces outside the parliament, throwing fire bombs as police responded with tear gas on Thursday.

Tensions between police and protesters have climaxed in central Athens, as news that another high school student had been shot in the hand in a western suburb fueled anger.

Opposition parties pounced on the incident as evidence that the government has lost control of an increasingly dangerous situation, the Kathimerini newspaper reported.

The Communist Party called it a "murderous attack" aimed at deterring youths from getting involved in demonstrations.

In addition to expected riots Greece's two largest trade union organizations plan an afternoon rally outside Parliament later Friday to protest the government's 2009В budget.

As the protests have become more political, Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis rejected calls to step down, despite growing public pressure.

However, earlier this week he acknowledged some of the problems that caused the anger of the Greek people.

"Long-unresolved problems, such as the lack of meritocracy, corruption in everyday life and a sense of social injustice disappoint young people," Karamanlis said in a speech to parliamentary colleagues on Tuesday.

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