70 Occupiers arrested in San Francisco

San Francisco police on Wednesday raided Occupy camp in the city, arresting 70 campers and protesters and clearing up the two-month-old encampment.According to San Francisco police spokesman, 30 Occupy campers, who refused to leave the site, were arrested after police gave them five minutes to clear out around 1:30 a.m. local time, and another 40 were arrested when they blocked Market Street, an important thoroughfare in the city.A camper told San Francisco Chronicle newspaper that most of the campers hadn't had time to get their belongings and police and protesters clashed for a bit.In a statement, San Francisco mayor Ed Lee said that communication with the Occupy SF leaders "deteriorated to a point where it was clear that no progress could be made," and city agencies peacefully and orderly ended the encampment in order to maintain public health, safety and return the encampment site for everyone's use.The city had offered to relocate the Occupy campers to the site of a former high school. According to San Francisco Chronicle, although many campers expressed interest, a near-consensus could not be reached as required by Occupy protocols.