Violent clashes between radical independence activists and law enforcement sparked chaotic scenes on Friday night in central Barcelona after a peaceful demonstration against the condemnation of pro-independence leaders.
New night of violence in Barcelona after a huge peaceful demonstration at the end of the day. In the riflemen, the leaders are experienced (profile black block / anti system) but behind them, there is a majority of very young independentists of extreme left pic.twitter.com/MHWHjK3ayX
- Henry de Laguérie (@henrydelaguerie) October 18, 2019After hours of war of positions near the central police station between radicals throwing stones or metal objects and police responding by shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, the unrest then spread to the rest of the city center , noted AFP journalists.
"It's not a way of doing things", regrets a protester
Many fires were lit, especially in the Plaza Catalunya at the top of the famous Ramblas, and barricades erected in many streets by hundreds of masked or helmeted demonstrators, shouting "the streets will always be ours". The police also used a water cannon against them.
# # ÚLTIMAHORA ENDIRECTO
Los Mossos usan por primera vez in the historia the tanqueta de agua para paso paso between the barricadas of Via Laietana, in Barcelona.
Imágenes: @ alextortsaguespic.twitter.com / G6bwgna9rh
Present in the event, Victor preferred to leave because of the violence. "I understand the feeling, but I think it's not the way to go, I do not burn things," he says at the microphone of Europe 1.
In this city popular with international tourists, the regional police advised in English on his Twitter account "not to approach" areas of downtown because of "violent acts and serious incidents". Around 11 pm, the situation "seemed calmer," according to a spokesman for the regional police, in the city that emanated a strong smell of smoke.
Nearly 500 people injured since the beginning of the week
After clashes during the blockade of the airport by more than 10,000 people on Monday, Barcelona had already experienced urban guerrilla scenes from Tuesday to Thursday, a magnitude less important than Friday night. Born out of the frustration of part of the separatist base two years after the failed secession attempt of 2017, this violence marked a turning point for the separatist movement, which has always boasted of being non-violent.
EDITO - Events in Catalonia act as a democratic tsunami
According to a report by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, before the violence escalates in the evening, 128 people have been arrested since the beginning of the independence mobilization on Monday while 207 police officers were injured. In total, according to emergency services, nearly 500 people have been injured since the beginning of the week in the region including 60 Friday night in Barcelona.
Before these disturbances burst, a monster event had gathered 525,000 people, according to the municipal police, in a festive atmosphere, high point of the mobilization started Monday against the conviction by the Spanish justice of nine independentist leaders to terms of imprisonment. nine to 13 years in prison for the attempted secession of 2017. With the slogan "Liberty", columns of tens of thousands of separatists left Wednesday five cities in the region to reach Barcelona.