A group of retired army officers, who had broken into the forecourt of the defence ministry in a protest over pensions, left the premises on Friday afternoon after handing over a resolution containing their demands.

As they left, the ex-officers announced that their protest would be repeated on Thursday.

The protest brought a strong reaction from Defence Minister Panos Beglitis, who, speaking in parliament, warned the demonstrators that they would be removed by force if they failed to leave the complex.

The protestors had demanded that Beglitis return from parliament so they could hand over a resolution containing their demands.

Earlier, Beglitis, describing to the incident as "unfortunate" and accusing the ex-officers of acting in an undemocratic manner, urged all the political parties to condemn the protest, singling out New Democracy to use its influence to persuade the ex-officers to disperse.