UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged US authorities to restrain protesters and believes police violence allegations should be investigated, his spokesman said Monday.

Protests should be peaceful, while “authorities must show restraint in responding to demonstrators in US as in any other country in the world,” Guterres believes, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

“We have seen over the last few days cases of police violence,” Dujarric told reporters at the United Nations in New York where demonstrations have been held every night since Wednesday over the death of George Floyd, an African American, in Minneapolis police hands last week.

“All cases obviously need to be investigated. Police forces around the world need to have adequate human rights training,” he told reporters. “There also needs to be an investment in social and psychological support for police so they can do their job properly in terms of protecting the community.

Dujarric said Gutteres was also worried about police assaults on journalists during the demonstrations that hit hundreds of U.S. cities, turning violent in many instances, leading to explosive and looting.

“When journalists are attacked, societies are attacked, and without freedom of the press, no democracy can function,” he said.