Hundreds of militants clashed with police after trying to enter restricted areas of a mine in the west of the country.
INA FASSBENDER/AFP
Police and protesters clashed this Saturday the 14th during a protest attended by the environmental activist Greta Thunbergagainst the expansion of an opencast coal mine in Lützerath, west of Germany. During the demonstration, in which around 35,000 people took part, according to the organizers, hundreds of militants tried to break into restricted areas of a lignite opencast mine in the west of the country. Police even commented on Twitter, urging people to “leave this area immediately!” Clashes broke out between groups of protesters and police, who were pelted with flares and other artifacts. In the television images, a number of agents with reinforced equipment such as helmets and shields were protecting the banks of a deep moat that the activists were approaching. Security forces also protected access to the community of Lützerath, which was blocked by bars and occupied by dozens of protesters who have been evacuated by police since the demonstrations began. The protest was organized in support of activists occupying the deserted compound and symbolically led by Thunberg.
*With information from AFP