Protesters clash with cops at German coal mine protest

German police clashed with environmental protesters on Saturday at a village being razed to make way for a coal mine expansion.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg turned up at the protest, in the hamlet of Luetzerath in western Germany, and condemned the move.

Organisers said that 35,000 protesters took part, with police putting the figure at 15,000.

There were clashes between some protesters and police, with hundreds defying an order to leave the cordoned off site, braving the mud, rain and later the darkness.

Police used water cannons against “violent” protesters, a police spokesman told AFP. But by the early evening, the site was calm again as the protesters gradually left.

Police said there had been people injured on both sides “but we don’t yet know how many” nor how serious the injuries had been.

The group that organised the protest said dozens of activists had been injured, including some by the water cannons and others from bites from police dogs. At least 20 activists had been taken to hospital for treatment, said Birte Schramm, a medic with the group still occupying the village. Some of them had been beaten on the head and in the stomach by police, she added.

Government deal ‘shameful’

Luetzerath -- deserted for some time by its original inhabitants -- is being demolished to make way for the extension of the adjacent open-cast coal mine, already one of the largest in Europe, operated by energy firm RWE.

Thunberg marched at the front of a procession of demonstrators who converged on the village, showing support for activists occupying it in protest.

“That the German government is making deals and compromises with fossil fuel companies such as RWE is shameful,” she said from a podium.

“Germany, as one of the biggest polluters in the world, has an enormous responsibility,” she added.

Local media reported stones being thrown at police and one protester was seen with a head injury, as ambulance sirens sounded near the protest site.

Police said activists had smashed protective barriers near the huge coal mine and entered the mine site.

“The police barriers have been broken,” the police tweeted. “To the people in front of Luetzerath: get out of this area immediately.”

“Some people have entered the mine. Move away from the danger zone immediately!”

Final stages of evacuation

The village has become a symbol of resistance to fossil fuels, and as part of an operation launched earlier this week, hundreds of police have been removing activists from the hamlet.

In just a few days, a large part of the protesters’ camp has been cleared by police, and its occupants evacuated.