Demonstrators and police clash in G20 protest

German police

have used water cannons to disperse groups of demonstrators identified as violent who joined a march called by the radical left against the G20 summit in Hamburg, to be formally held tomorrow.

The riot police, present at the site of the concentration and along the whole planned route, stopped the demonstration shortly after it started, detecting about 1.000 hooded persons , police sources said.

The first altercations occurred and some blunt objects were thrown in the direction of the police, after which the security forces blocked the street through which the demonstration was going to take place.

Photo: REUTERS

The march's motto was " Welcome to hell " and was organized by various groups, including the " Rote Flora " movement grouped around a house near the congress center where the summit will be held.

The German authorities have prepared a team of about 19.000 agents in anticipation of altercations and the general anti-terrorist alarm that rules throughout Germany.

For the days preceding the summit and until its end, on Saturday, there are a dozen or so announced demonstrations of diverse kind, including those of a radical nature .

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