At least 82 police officers were injured when protests against a planned neo-Nazi rally in the German city of Dresden turned violent, officials said Sunday, expressing shock at the brutality shown by both far-right and far-left extremists. Some of the injuries were serious, Dresden police chief Dieter Hanitsch said. Officials had initially spoken of 50 injured officers. Michael Wilhelm, state secretary of the Saxony Interior Ministry, demanded that those responsible be punished. Thousands of anti-fascist demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday to prevent right-wing extremist marches to the city centre. Some of them threw paving stones, bottles and fireworks at officers, while the police deployed truncheons, tear gas and water cannons to prevent them from breaking into an area reserved for the right-wing extremists. Officials had expected 4,000 neo-Nazis to stream into the city for their approved rally, but only a fraction showed up. More than 50 demonstrators were ultimately detained for violating assembly laws, committing assault and resisting law enforcement.
DPA
