Complex sentence: A police squad was put together to escort repairmen to fix the overhead cables, but they were soon surrounded by the strikers, and were stoned with bricks and beaten with bats, forcing them to flee.
Split into simpler sentences: A police squad was organized and dispatched to escort repairmen to fix the overhead cables. The repairmen and the police were surrounded by the strikers and were stoned with bricks and beaten with bats, forcing them to flee.