German police said they have «largely» evacuated activists occupying the village of Lutzerath in western Germany over their opposition to the use of the area for coal.
«The evacuation of the above-ground structures has been largely completed (…) We have vacated almost all but one house. The meadow has been cleared (…) In this respect, there is not much left,» explained Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach, according to dpa.
The evacuation could be further delayed because of the subway passages, in which the climate activists have barricaded themselves, which were discovered on Thursday.
«It is impossible to say how long the evacuation of the subway structures will take. It will also be important to proceed very carefully and not to take any risks,» Weinspach said, referring to the fact that they do not know «how stable the subway structures are» or «what the air supply is like.»
For the moment, he said, police are unable to approach the activists. Special emergency forces are studying «how to carry out the rescue properly.»
Hours earlier, the hitherto peaceful protests flared up when a police car was set on fire by unknown persons. «We assume without a doubt that it was arson,» said a police spokesman, who said that the perpetrators had broken the car window to pour flammable liquid inside the car.
The German energy giant RWE is planning to expand a lignite mine, so that the town has become a symbol of activism against fossil fuels. In fact, a demonstration has been called for Saturday, which the young Swede Greta Thunberg is planning to attend.
According to the German police, some 800 people have demonstrated from the town of Keyenberg to Lutzerath, some four kilometers away.
RWE has erected a two-meter-high fence to establish a security perimeter, which is almost complete as of Thursday, according to a spokesman for the company. In addition, work has already begun on the access to the town to demolish buildings and cut down trees.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
