Berlin: Police say more than 120 officers were injured and 86 demonstrators have been detained during leftist riots in the German capital which police call “the most aggressive and violent protests in the last five years". Berlin police said in a statement on Sunday that protesters threw bottles, cobblestones and fireworks, destroyed cars and attacked officers. It wasn't immediately clear how serious the injuries were, or how many rioters were injured in the clashes.
About 3,500 protesters participated in the rallies, which started on Saturday evening and lasted until early Sunday. Activists had called for the demonstration to protest against police operations at squatted buildings in the eastern part of the city last month. Around 1,800 police officers were called in to monitor the protesters.
According to reports, the violence from radical left-wing extremists was sparked after the forced eviction of squatters from a building known in the Berlin anarchist scene as, “R94”. R94 stands for Riga Street 94, the address of the building which far-left activists and anarchists have been squatting in for decades. Berlin police had inititated action against the squatters on June 22 but have been met with fierce resistance.
