70+ law enforcement officers injured during protests in Lutzerath, Germany
About 70 police officers were injured in the German village of Lutzerath, where people protested against coal mining, RIA Novosti reports
According to the Aachen police, by now, more than 300 people have been evicted from Lutzerath, while four acts of resistance have been committed. Two activists still remain in an underground tunnel, other participants of the action managed to be removed from the village. Twelve protesters were detained by the police.
"Since the beginning of the operation, more than 70 police officers have been injured," the press service explained, adding that ten activists were hospitalised. It became clear later that those people had not received any serious injuries. In addition, several police cars were damaged, including by stones and graffiti, side mirrors were broken and a large number of tires were cut.
It is reported that 154 criminal cases have been initiated.
On January 14th, thousands of protesters headed to Lutzerath, and Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg also joined them. According to the organisers, about 35,000 people took part in the protest action, but the police said there were 8-10,000 of them.
On the morning of January 11th, law enforcement officers and operational forces began clearing the German village of Lutzerath, in North Rhine-Westphalia, between Aachen and Dusseldorf. The German energy company RWE plans coal mining in the area, and – according to a decree – all villagers need to relocate by the end of the month. However, eco-activists protesting against mining in order to preserve Lutzerath settled in houses whose owners had already gone away.
