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- Police on ‘full alert’ amid ongoing riots across country, says official - Organizer says more than 100,000 people took to streets, while announcing further protests for Nov. 20
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By Oliver Towfigh Nia
BERLIN (AA) - A number of police officers were injured and numerous people were arrested Saturday during Gen Z protest marches in several major German cities, prompting authorities to end the demonstrations after they were being targeted with firecrackers, bottles and stones.
Gen Z youth protests escalated in several German cities, including Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne, and Frankfurt, according to police.
At least two people were arrested during a youth protest march in Hamburg on Saturday afternoon, according to police.
One of them was apparently carrying a fake firearm during a march in the upscale Jungfernstieg neighborhood. Police officers overpowered both men. There were no immediate reports of injuries or information about their motives.
As the protest came to an end, rioters set fire to barricades in Hamburg’s city center as water cannons arrived to extinguish the fire.
Police officers tried to clear the street. Firecrackers and bottles were thrown at police officers from the crowd.
- Several arrested
Two police officers were injured in the southern city of Stuttgart when objects were thrown at them.
“We have recorded many dozen criminal offenses,” a police spokeswoman reported on the police’s WhatsApp channel.
Several suspects have been taken into custody.
Participants in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe also set off fireworks once, causing one officer to suffer acoustic trauma, according to police.
Several dozen people were arrested during riots in Frankfurt. So far, police have confirmed one officer was injured. More injuries, however, are expected, the BILD newspaper reported.
Police also deployed water cannons during the violent protest.
The demonstration in the financial hub began in the early afternoon on the banks of the Main river and remained mostly peaceful for several hours.
But the situation escalated as darkness fell in the evening in downtown Frankfurt, where the march came to a halt.
- ‘Police on full alert’
The police union said it remained “on full alert” amid the violent youth protests.
Andreas Rosskopf, chairman of the Federal Police division, told the Rheinische Post newspaper, “The Gen Z protests turned out to be very peaceful.”
After the main events ended, however, the situation escalated in some cities, including Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Berlin, he added.
The groups responsible for the violence consisted of “autonomous and, in some cases, masked individuals.”
Where necessary, the police intervened very decisively and on a large scale, said Rosskopf, citing, among other things, the use of water cannons and pepper spray.
“The police forces now remain on full alert to prevent any further riots, even late in the evening or at night,” said the union representative.
Meanwhile, the “Gen Z Regels” (Gen Z takes charge) initiative said the nationwide youth protests were successful.
“Today, over 100,000 people showed what they’re taking to the streets for,” said a spokesperson from the initiative’s media team.
In three weeks, the initiative plans to mobilize for further actions. “We want to participate in the Europe-wide protests on November 20,” the spokesperson told the German Press Agency dpa.
