Violent riots broke out in Leipzig on Saturday night for the third time in a row.
In the Connewitz district, a demonstration against gentrification and displacement spiraled out of control after a few hundred meters.
From the lines of approximately 500 participants in the “Combine Fights” demonstration, rocks and bottles flew towards the police. Firecrackers and Bengalis were also detonated.
The police stopped the meeting after 15 minutes!
Later there were hunting scenes in side streets between masked people and the emergency services.
According to initial estimates by the police, around 500 people had gathered for the recorded demonstration.Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
According to information from BILD, several people were temporarily detained early Saturday night.
In addition, tram traffic was stopped in the southern part of the city. A police helicopter flew over Connewitz.
Police announced on Saturday that they would proceed in a “communicative and relaxing” manner. However, if the meetings were “not very peaceful,” she would step in and end them early. That happened then.
Despite the ban, angry firecrackers and Bengalis set it on fire.Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
Around midnight, around 30 people, some of them masked, gathered in front of the Leipzig police headquarters to show solidarity with the arrested rioters. Here, too, the police were on the scene with many officers who secured the building.
About 30 people gathered on Sunday night in front of the entrance to the police headquarters.
Emergency forces secured entry to the police headquarters.
► While the police were trying to control the situation in Connewitz with several hundred people, a car caught fire in the fenced area of the state police procurement office in Leipzig Grünau. Was it an attack? “Forensic investigations are still ongoing,” a police spokeswoman told BILD on Saturday night. “The fire department was able to put out the fire immediately.”
The police equipment is stored at the premises of the state procurement office in Leipzig-Grünau. A car burned down here Saturday night in the fenced area
There had already been outbreaks of violence in Leipzig on Thursday and Friday nights. This was preceded by the squat that had been canceled by the police. Police were attacked in unannounced demonstrations.
After the riots, Saxon Interior Minister Roland Wöller announced that he would advocate for stricter penalties for violence against police officers. The latest events showed that it was only brute force against people and things, the CDU politician said on Saturday. “In particular, targeted attacks against police officers have reached unbearable proportions and are unacceptable.” It should be clear to everyone that in a democracy, protest can only be peaceful.
Police officers at the Connewitz coordination center
Saxony had already voted for tougher penalties at the interior ministers conference in spring. In the event of assault on law enforcement officers, the minimum penalty is currently three months. Wöller came out in favor of increasing it to six months.
Saxony Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (45, CDU) called for solidarity against left-wing extremism. “We see that this is a meeting place for left-wing extremists from all over Germany. Now a signal is needed from all of civil society that we reject this: parties, unions, churches, ”Kretschmer told BILD.
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
