Rival demos counter far right street protests in Berlin

BERLIN: Thousands of demonstrators for and against the far-right faced off in mass rival rallies in Berlin on Sunday, where calls of “We are the people” were met with chants of “Go away, Nazis” and techno music.

Police officers were deployed to keep groups apart and prevent clashes, as far-left militants vowed to “sabotage” the march by the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

On Twitter, Berlin police said they had to use pepper spray to stop “demonstrators from trying to break down barriers” separating the rallies at Berlin’s Leipziger square. They also announced bridge closures to avoid AfD demonstrators running into opponents. The counter-demos, organised under the banner “Stop the hatred, Stop the AfD”, were triggered by a call from the far-right party for its supporters to march in the capital “for the future of Germany”.