German police and protesters squared off Thursday on the streets of Hamburg as world leaders arrive for the G20 summit.
Some 8,000 left-wing activists gathered for a massive protest in central Hamburg to greet leaders with the message “G20: Welcome to Hell.” Demonstrators from across Europe started mobilizing Wednesday with the main targets being U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Clashes with police erupted after protesters refused to remove their masks and started throwing “bottles and objects” at them, according to Deutsche Welle. Police responded with water cannons and batons.
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The German military has warned its soldiers not to wear uniforms during the summit in fear they might get attacked by “violent left-wing extremists,” magazine Der Spiegel reported Wednesday.
The military considers the summit a “crystallization point” for the left-wing extremist scene, as tens of thousands of protesters from across Europe will mobilize.
The restriction affects all soldiers in the area and will be in place Wednesday through Sunday.
“Soldiers in uniform who are moving around the city during the announced protests can be the target of spontaneous attacks by violent left-wing extremist protests,” Germany’s Ministry of Defense said in an internal message, according to Spiegel.
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