Almost 1000 detained during COP15 protests

Riot police are bracing themselves for a third day of violent protests after a weekend of violent confrontations with activists at the Copenhagen climate change talks.


Police have been pelted with fireworks, bricks and stones by protesters who’ve set fire to cars and smashed windows.

One officer has been treated in hospital after being hit with a cobblestone ripped up and hurled at police during a weekend of violence.

The authorities have in turn fired tear gas and been accused, by a number of the protest groups, of being heavy handed in their response.

At 15.30pm yesterday (December 13) Danish officers swopped to arrest of a large group of demonstrators on Amagerbrogade in Copenhagen who had organized themselves in a so called ‘black block’.

The group who had put on masks, which is illegal at a Danish protest, had been throwing stones and fireworks, just as windows had been smashed in buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A police spokesman said: “Working as a background for the decision made by the police trying to seal of this group of violent demonstrators were also an essential consideration towards the large peaceful demonstration, which should not be allowed to be devastated by persons with another agenda than the peaceful demonstration.

“Shortly after the detainment was executed the police noted, that a larger group of persons were setting four vehicles on fire parked near Christiania.

“The police was here facing stones being thrown and fireworks and had to deploy teargas to bring the situation to an end, in this connection 55 arrests were made.”

Danish officers say people arrested come from, Belgium, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Kenya, France, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, China, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

Luke Walsh

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