A state of emergency has reigned in the German city of Leipzig since the conviction of a left-wing extremist and three co-defendants for attacks on (alleged) neo-Nazis. Angry protests have been going on for days, with participants and security forces clashing. Several police officers were injured on Saturday by incendiary bombs, thrown stones or bottles. The police surrounded some demonstrators and spoke of “mass riots”.
According to police, about 1,500 participants had gathered for the demonstration in the south of the city, with an estimated one-third violent. There were 100 protesters registered. Several water cannons were launched, but were not used. According to a police spokesman, an estimated 500 people were surrounded. On Saturday afternoon, several vehicles and garbage cans were on fire. Later that evening, as darkness fell, the protest moved to the Connewitz neighborhood. Numerous barricades burned in various places there, some of which were extinguished with water cannons.
“Day X” demo banned
Several hundred masked people played a game of cat and mouse with the police in the area. Stones were thrown at the local police station on the Wiedebachpassage, torn cobblestones were scattered around. According to the police, two officers guarding the object were injured. According to the police, several hundred people gathered in the area around the Connewitzer Kreuz. The “Day X” demo was to take place on Saturday afternoon in the southern Leipzig district. However, the city of Leipzig had forbidden this, because there was to be feared an unsatisfactory course. Several courts upheld the bans.
Leftists accuse police of escalation
Arrest warrants have been issued for five men, aged between 20 and 32, accused of disturbing public order. The left criticized the actions of the police. Her parliamentary secretary in the Saxon state parliament, Marco Böhme, accused the police on Twitter of escalating the situation with the “actual ban”. He also criticized the fact that prisoners were sometimes held for hours. Police say everyone involved is being looked after. There is also the possibility to use a mobile toilet.
The CDU MP Sebastian Fischer defended the mission: “The monopoly on the use of force lies with the state! Those who use force feel the consequences,” said the politician on Twitter. Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, who met with Interior Minister Armin Schuster (both CDU) visited the situation center, thanked the police for their efforts.”The aim is to protect people and property and arrest violent criminals,” the CDU politician said on Twitter in the afternoon.
Source: Krone
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