CHARLOTTE, N.C. — University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill police detained members of a pro-Palestinian “Gaza solidarity encampment” early Tuesday morning after warning the group to remove its tents from university grounds or face possible arrest, suspension or expulsion from the university.

University officials confirmed Wednesday evening that 33 protesters were detained, and 27 were cited for trespassing when they refused to leave the encampment at Polk Place, the university’s main quad in the central part of campus.

The group that was cited and released included 13 students and 14 people unaffiliated with the university, officials said.

Six others — three UNC stuents and three unaffiliated individuals — were charged with trespassing and taken to the Orange County jail, where they were later released on a written promise to appear in court.

UNC interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens released a statement at 5:37 a.m. telling the protesters to “remove all tents, tables, and other items and depart from the area” of the encampment.

“Failure to follow this order to disperse will result in consequences including possible arrest, suspension from campus and, ultimately, expulsion from the university, which may prevent students from graduating,” Roberts and Clemens stated.

In a news release, the university said campus police “calmly approached the group” at 6 a.m. and detained a few dozen people who refused to leave.

“During that time, the protesters attempted to block the UNC Police vehicles by standing in front of them and throwing items at officers,” the UNC release stated. “Polk Place was cleared in approximately 45 minutes. Afterwards, UNC Facilities cleared the area of significant debris.

“After the area was cleared, the remaining protesters escalated their tactics, attempting to forcibly enter South Building by pushing officers and refusing to comply with requests from Facilities and UNC Police,” the release stated.

The UNC chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine, meanwhile, tweeted that people were “violently arrested.”

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