G20 protests: Police, protesters clash in Germany

German riot police clashed at times with thousands of protesters in Hamburg on Thursday evening as world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, arrived in the city ahead of Friday’s G20 summit.

Police used water cannons as protesters threw bottles and smoke bombs during the anti-capitalist Welcome to Hell protest, taking place approximately 2 miles from the summit.

Firecrackers and bottles were also thrown at riot police who attempted to disperse the crowd as police helicopters circled overhead. The clashes began after police ordered many protesters to remove their masks.

“I came here because in general I’m totally against the G20 summit,” Nicklas, a 21-year-old student protester, told CNN.
“…It’s the root cause or reason for what’s going wrong in the world. Wars can be bad but capitalism kills.”

Nicklas, who declined to give his last name, told CNN he was in Hamburg to protest against capitalism.

Julia Reusing, 27, from Frankfurt, was upset that police disrupted the demonstration.

“If this is all we can do just for showing our opinion and giving a statement — and if the state forces are just shutting us up … I mean what kind of state do we live in?” she said about authorities’ initial moves to control the protests.

As night fell the situation initially calmed some but there was still tension. Police seemed to be targeting individuals they thought were troublemakers, not trying to disperse the large crowd that was moving through the city.
There were about 8,000 protesters, according to a police estimate.

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