Police and demonstrators have clashed at the beginning of the G20 Summit in the German city of Hamburg.
Water cannons and tear gas were used by police, while protestors responded by burning cars and erecting barricades.
Seventy-six police officers have been reported as injured. There are no official statistics on the numbers of demonstrators hurt. Leftist groups estimated it to be at least 100.
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The first major protest of the weekend, the 'Welcome to Hell' march held by groups of activists, was estimated at around 12,000 strong and departed from the traditionally left wing city districts of St Pauli and Sternschanze with the intention of blocking the route to the so-called 'Red Zone' in the city centre.
Credit: PA
Police intervened when demonstrators staged a sit-down protest in the road, attempting to remove activists by force. "They were never going to let the demo get anywhere near the city centre," said one demonstrator to the Deutsche Welle. "That's the start of three hot days in Hamburg."
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The Hamburg police have come in for severe criticism in Germany, where the response to the protests has been characterised as excessive. They were captured firing water cannons at protestors on a roof and pepper spraying a woman stood atop an armoured police vehicle.
In one widely-shared image, a masked police spokesperson was pictured speaking to media alongside a caption explaining "masked demonstrators are illegal and will not be tolerated [by police]", an irony that was not lost on German Twitter.
Fires could be seen all over Hamburg in the evening as barricades, rubbish bins and cars were set alight. Earlier, some 1,000 black bloc demonstrators had assembled in St Pauli, with more expected to attended the larger protest on Saturday.
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Credit: PA
Die Welt reports that reinforcements are now being brought in from other German states to assist the police in Hamburg. Three hundred will arrive from Berlin and 200 from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Friday morning to join the existing 20,000 police who have assembled in the northern city. One hundred protestors are expected at the main demonstration on Saturday.
The G20 is meeting in Hamburg to discuss issues such as climate change, free trade and other issues. US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron have all arrived in Germany and will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders over the weekend.
Source: DW, Spiegel, Die Welt and Facebook
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Germany, Donald Trump