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Participants in a demonstration shoot red pyrotechnic torches through Leipzig’s Connewitz district on Saturday night.
Image: dpa
The demonstrations have continued since the Leipzig-Connewitz police wanted to evacuate an occupied building. On the third consecutive night there were violent scenes and several people were arrested.
meViolent 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. After stones were thrown at the windows of the new buildings, the police dismantled the elevator, according to a dpa reporter. Then there were hunting scenes between masked people and investigators. Several people were arrested.
Tram traffic in the southern part of the city stopped and a police helicopter flew over Connewitz. According to initial estimates by the police, around 500 people had gathered for the recorded demonstration. Despite the ban, participants set fire to firecrackers and Bengalis.
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.
Leipzig Police Chief Torsten Schultze said the attackers were “apparently left-wing extremists.” A total of nine officers were slightly injured.
The police were on duty with large numbers. Several hundred riot police were supported by Thuringian forces and the federal police. Following the escalations of the previous days, the police had expressed their concern in advance.
“Of course, we also hoped today that the meeting would be peaceful and that we would engage in a communicative conversation with the participants,” Heimann said. “The fact that he reappears today in this way also surprises us.”
