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Dec. 9, 2014: Pro-democracy protesters' tents are seen at the occupied area outside government headquarters in Hong Kong. Hong Kong authorities and activists are set for one last showdown after the publication Tuesday of a court order authorizing the removal of barricades and tents blocking the Asian financial hub's streets for more than two months.(AP)

A man walks past a barricade at the occupied area outside government headquarters in Hong Kong Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Hong Kong authorities and activists are set for one last showdown after the publication Tuesday of a court order authorizing the removal of barricades and tents blocking the Asian financial hub's streets for more than two months. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)(The Associated Press)

Barricades are set up by pro-democracy protester on a main road at the occupied area outside government headquarters in Hong Kong Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Hong Kong authorities and activists are set for one last showdown after the publication Tuesday of a court order authorizing the removal of barricades and tents blocking the Asian financial hub's streets for more than two months. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)(The Associated Press)

Pro-democracy protesters' tents are seen at the occupied area outside government headquarters in Hong Kong Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Hong Kong authorities and activists are set for one last showdown after the publication Tuesday of a court order authorizing the removal of barricades and tents blocking the Asian financial hub's streets for more than two months. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)(The Associated Press)

HONG KONG Police warned Hong Kong pro-democracy activists that they have until Thursday to leave a sprawling protest camp which has blocked traffic in the Chinese financial hub for more than two months before authorities clear it out.

Authorities are set to move in after a court order authorized the removal of barricades, tents and other obstructions from the protesters' main camp in the downtown Admiralty district, setting the stage for a possible last showdown with activists demanding greater democracy.

Police spokesman Cheung Tak-keung urged protesters on Tuesday evening to start packing up their belongings because they won't have any time on Thursday. Workers are expected to carry out the clearance operation starting at 9 a.m. that day, said Paul Tse, a lawyer for the bus company that sought the injunction.

The court order, published in newspapers and posted by bailiffs Tuesday at the Admiralty site, authorizes court workers to request police assistance "where necessary." It covers three sections of the Admiralty site, but Cheung said that after officers assist in clearing those areas they will also remove obstructions from other blocked roads nearby.

He said police would also dismantle barricades from a second, smaller site in the Causeway Bay district not covered by the court order "at an appropriate time," without specifying when.

Referring to reports that some protesters plan to resist, Cheung said anyone who refuses to leave or obstructs officers will be arrested.

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Hong Kong protest camp to be cleared out Thursday