A large mob of far-left extremists attacked police officers with bottles, stones, and other objects in Berlin over the weekend, injuring 19 and leaving three officers in serious condition.
More than a thousand left-wing extremists took to the streets to take protest the eviction of individuals, businesses, and squatters who are currently occupying low-rent buildings in the area Rigaer Straße and Liebigstraße in Friedrichshain, the German newspaper Bild reports.
The mob of hooded far-left extremists reportedly made their way from Kreuzberg and Neukölln to Friedrichshain before they became violent and began throwing stones, bottles, and other projectiles at police near Riga Street.
Close to two dozen of the far-left extremists reportedly damaged cars and set fires to dumpsters.
Extremists perched on rooftops pelted police with stones from above while other rioters sprayed cops with paint from a fire extinguisher.
19 police officers were injured as a result of the attack. According to police, just one rioter was arrested for throwing a bottle.
In response to the attacks against police, state politician Burkard Dregger and CDU deputy Kurt Wasner issued a joint statement condemning the violence.
“I hold the Interior Senator and the red-red-green coalition personally responsible for the rabid hatred and inhumane left-wing violence against police officers last night in Riga Street,” the two wrote.
Andreas Giesel, the State Minister of the Interior of Berlin, also condemned the attacks, saying: “I strongly condemn the violence that hit the police on Saturday, especially in the Riga street.”
“Those who attack people who secure the fundamental right to freedom of assembly, have adopted a serious political position,” said Geisel. “One cannot repeat often enough our basic democratic consensus: Violence has no place in the political debate.”
Unsurprisingly, this latest instance of left-wing violence against the state has largely gone unreported by mainstream media outlets in Germany.
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