Violent Pro-Palestine protests have broken out in Bern with footage capturing demonstrators hurling tables at police officers amid clashes.
Following the outbreak of violence in the Swiss capital this weekend, 18 law enforcement officers and two protesters were left injured.
The unauthorised protest in the city on Saturday afternoon drew more than 5,000 people, including a large number clad in black and wearing masks, who clashed with cops and vandalised property.
Dramatic footage from the scenes taken from a restaurant named Monnier show armed cops in protective gear battling activists in the middle of the street as some throw outdoor seating tables towards officers.
Helmeted cops can be seen using their arms to protect their faces from the flying furniture as other spray water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds.
The ‘demonstration escalated into unrest, causing significant property damage’, Bern police said in a statement on Sunday.
‘Law enforcement officers were also repeatedly attacked with dangerous objects,’ including construction equipment, furniture, rocks, bottles, fire extinguishers, fireworks and laser pointers, it added.
Police had responded ‘with force’, using water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and police batons, it said.
Dramatic footage from the scenes taken from a restaurant named Monnier show armed cops in protective gear battling activists in the middle of the street as some throw outdoor seating tables towards officers
Following the outbreak of violence in the Swiss capital this weekend, 18 law enforcement officers and two protesters were left injured
Police had responded ‘with force’, using water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and police batons, Bern police said in a statement on Sunday
‘This behaviour… forced the police to use coercive measures,’ Michael Bettschen, deputy regional head of the Bern cantonal police, said on Sunday. One person was arrested.
In all, 16 male and two female officers were injured, including four who had to be hospitalised, police said, adding that it was aware of two other people who required medical attention following the clashes.
The property damage was ‘extensive’, the statement said, describing smashed shop windows and ATM screens, tagged and defaced facades, and nine police vehicles ‘heavily damaged or tagged’.
The total amount of damage was expected to be ‘in the millions’ of Swiss francs, police said.
At least 57 buildings, nine police vehicles and various items of equipment were damaged. Among other things, demonstrators started a fire by setting fire to the contents of a rubble dump, Swiss news site Blue News reported.
A total of 536 people were detained and had their identities checked before being removed from the area.
One of those checked was already the subject of an arrest warrant, the statement said, adding that others risked charges for offenses including rioting, property damage, home invasion, bodily harm, intentional arson and violence or threats against authorities.
In all, 16 male and two female officers were injured, including four who had to be hospitalised, police said
The unauthorised protest in the city on Saturday afternoon drew more than 5,000 people, including a large number clad in black and wearing masks, who clashed with cops and vandalised property
Security Director von Graffenried condemned the violence ‘in the strongest possible terms’ and said the demonstration had nothing to do with the expression of opinion.
As per Blue News, he described the masked block at the head of the demonstration as ‘violent extremists’ and a ‘bunch of b*******’.
‘The political reappraisal will keep us busy for some time to come’, said von Graffenried. For now, however, it was a matter of ‘picking up the pieces’.
Such confrontations are rare for Switzerland, although a pro-Gaza protest on October 2 in Geneva also led to clashes between police and protesters.