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Emergency vehicles in Unterkirnach

Photo: Silas Stein/dpa

In Unterkirnach in Baden-Württemberg, a forced eviction has escalated.

A 62-year-old man has been holed up in his house in the Schwarzwald-Baar district for hours.

The former soldier threatens to set fire and burn the building down.

The police are on site with a large contingent, and the special operations command (SEK) has secured a container in front of the front door using a robot.

There was initially no further information about the contents of the box that the man left in front of the door.

According to the police, the man is said to have several long guns and handguns registered to him.

He is also said to be a member of a shooting club.

As a soldier, he did not belong to any special forces.

There is no evidence that he belongs to the scene of so-called Reich citizens.

“Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures.

The residents of the adjacent single-family houses and semi-detached houses were brought to safety.

The police did not say how many people had to leave their homes.

The 62-year-old's house is largely cordoned off.

The public is asked to avoid the area.

Officers from the Rottweil police negotiate with the 62-year-old and try to get him to give up.

According to the information, the operation has been running since morning.

How long it will take is unclear.

The police have now set up a kind of base camp where the officers are waiting in full gear for a possible deployment.

Rescue vehicles and the fire department are also on site.

According to the police spokesman, nothing is yet known about the man's further background or specific motives.

When it comes to forced evictions, the police are often involved right from the start because of the possible risks, as was the case in this case.

After learning about the 62-year-old's possible possession of weapons and because of his threats, they decided to launch a large-scale operation.

Special operations forces were also called in.

Unterkirnach is located in the southern Black Forest, around eight kilometers from the nearest larger town, Villingen-Schwenningen.

According to the community, around 2,600 people live there.

kha/dpa/AFP