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Militant anarchists continued violent protests in Hamburg for the second day as the G20 summit kicked off in the city. According to local press, at least 45 people have been detained and 159 police officers have been wounded in clashes. For the second day, police had to resort to water cannon to disperse protesters while dozens of were set on fire in the suburb of Altona.
As Reuters adds "for the 1,000 hard-left militants who wreaked havoc on the streets of Hamburg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not have chosen a better location to hold the G20 summit." That's because the dense, urban environment allows them to disperse and hide easily, and the city is full symbols of the wealth they detest - from the gleaming 800 million euro ($913 million) Elbphilharmonie concert hall to the shipyards that build luxury yachts.
As the July 7-8 summit started on Friday, Black Bloc anarchists and other anti-capitalist protesters sat in groups on main intersections, blocking streets and bridges leading to the summit venue as well as a road used by trucks at Hamburg Port. On Thursday night, they hurled beer bottles, blocked roads using trash bins and set cars on fire.
On Friday morning, G20 protesters staged a sit-in demonstration and blocked a road in Hamburg. Police said that they tried to urge the protesters to disperse peacefully, but then deployed water cannon to clear the road.