Güncelleme Tarihi:
The street battles came on the sidelines of a two-day congress organized by right-wing extremists on the purportedly growing dominance of Europe’s Muslim minority and the construction of one of
The clashes that ran into the night Saturday overshadowed a peaceful protest by tens of thousands of people against the "anti-Islamification" congress, police chief Klaus Steffenhagen told reporters.
Carrying banners reading "We are
Organizers said about 40,000 people turned out for the demonstration for peaceful coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims in
Meanwhile, around 150 bars in
One hotel even cancelled bookings made by "undesirables".
A leading figure in the Greens party, Volker Beck, welcomed the "victory of civil society against the far-right".
Pro-Koeln had begun two days of seminars Friday during which about 300 participants from across
Earlier Saturday, police banned an outdoor rally organized by far-right adherents in
Steffenhagen said the left-wing extremists hurled Molotov cocktails, stones and fireworks and tore down security barricades.
"This was not a protest but was unbridled violence against our police force and those who wanted to demonstrate peacefully in
Some 3,000 police officers were deployed and used truncheons and water hoses to fend off violent "anti-fascist" leftist activists.
Pro-Koeln has five elected local councilors and is chasing other official positions in the region.
Photo: AFP