Clashes with police broke out during an anti-lockdown rally in Germany's central city of Kassel on Saturday, forcing officers to deploy batons and pepper spray, Bild reported
MOSCOW/BERLIN/VILNIUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2021) Clashes with police broke out during an anti-lockdown rally in Germany's central city of Kassel on Saturday, forcing officers to deploy batons and pepper spray, Bild reported.
According to the newspaper, despite the ban on mass gatherings in the region, several thousand protesters gathered in the city center for a rally dubbed "Free Citizens of Kassel basic rights and democracy." The participants were not wearing masks keeping social distance.
Police reportedly used pepper spray and batons when protesters tried to break through a cordon.
Local police were reinforced by their colleagues from North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition, Federal police forces as well as a helicopter are said to be involved.
In parallel, a small rally was dispersed near the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin over multiple violations of coronavirus rules, police told Sputnik.
"The rally, which gathered about 150 people, was prematurely ended by the police after repeated warnings about violations of sanitary and hygienic norms," the spokesperson said.
Some of the protesters then headed for Tiergarten Park and the others toward the Reichstag building.
In addition, about 300 people are participating in a protest on Alexanderplatz, according to police.
Anti-lockdown rallies are also underway in other countries.
In Lithuania, over 100 people gathered on the Cathedral Square of Vilnius, some of them did not observe distance and did not wear masks, LRT.lt reported.
