At least 76 police officers were injured in clashes with protesters on Friday at Hamburg in Germany, where the international G20 Summit is to begin shortly. Police said that three officers were rushed to the hospital, while some protesters are believed to have been injured in the skirmish too, BBC reported.
The clashes began when some police officers charged at masked protesters who were gathered at a "Welcome to hell" march, attended by nearly 12,000 people in the city.
The protesters gathered to march ahead of the event where global leaders, including United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will discuss key issues like climate change, trade and bilateral ties.
Andreas Blechschmidt, one of the organisers of the protest, said that the march was against the policies of the G20 leaders who have "created hellish conditions in many countries" around the world. "We want to show them that we can turn up the heat too," he said.
The German government had made clear that people would be allowed to protest, and voice their opposition to the event as they live in a democracy.
"We are a country where people have a right to demonstrate," Steffen Seibert, Merkel's spokesman, said. "Every citizen has a right to protest. And that counts for the G20 too," Seibert was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Police attempted to contain the masked protesters by firing water cannon and pepper spray, while the protesters hurled bottles, stones and flares.
Reports state that the organisers cancelled the march after the first clashes took place in the city. However, the protesters remained on the streets, and the violence gradually spread to other areas of Hamburg.
The protesters made makeshift barricades, set vehicles on fire, damaged businesses and repeatedly shone laser at a police helicopter to dazzle the pilot, BBC reported police as saying.
Emergency services were spotted amid the clashes, where medics were seen treating several injured people. At least one person appeared to be severely wounded and was carried away covered in foil blanket.
Nearly 20,000 police officers have been deployed in Hamburg before the commencement of the important summit. Reports state that security cordons have been erected around the venues to prevent protesters from reaching the spot.
Reports state that nearly 100,000 protesters are expected to march in Hamburg over the weekend.
