Danish police battle protesters, 200 held

Danish police fought fresh street battles yesterday with youths who set fire to cars in protest at the eviction of squatters from a Copenhagen youth centre.

Demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at police who fired tear gas in early morning clashes. At least 200 activists were detained in the clashes and subsequent police raids, bringing the total to some 600 in three days of violence.

Police, who used helicopters and water cannon to evict the squatters from the centre on Thursday, raided houses yesterday to find foreign activists who they said would be expelled. Media reports spoke of around 50 foreigners, including Germans.

Police were braced for fresh clashes last night and drafted reinforcements from other districts borrowing police vans from Sweden, police spokesman Flemming Steen Munch said.

A new demonstration was planned in the capital at 10 p.m., activists said. Media reports said protesters were urged via mass cellphone text messages to demonstrate.

A peaceful demonstration was also held yesterday ending in Copenhagen's multi-ethnic, working class Norrebro district, the focus of recent protests with the hippie enclave Christiania.

The conflict over the youth centre has simmered since 2000 when local government sold the building to a religious group. Left-wing activists have used it as a base since 1982 but the current owners gained a 2006 court order to evict squatters.

The clashes early yesterday flared after a street party with live music in Norrebro sparked violence after midnight in St Hans Square.