Netherlands: wounded by police fire at a “riot” in Rotterdam

Local authorities have prohibited gatherings in the area to prevent new violence.

Le Monde with AFP

Police summation shots have made several wounded on Friday 19 November, in the port city of Rotterdam where a manifestation against partial confinement to fight against the pandemic of Covid-19 turned to the “riot”, Local police reported.

A water barrel has been used to try to disperse the protesters who have triggered fireworks and on fires in several places in a shopping street in the city center, confirmed the police of Rotterdam. Shared shared images on social networks showed a police car in flames, which a spokesperson also confirmed with the France-Presse agency.

The Netherlands has reintroduced a partial confinement last week with a series of sanitary restrictions, especially affecting the catering sector, to cope with a covid-19 case outbreak.

“Very serious” situation

“A demonstration that began tonight at 8 pm on the Coolsingel [downtown] gave rise to riots. Fires were lit in several places. Fireworks have been triggered and the police has been triggered Drawn several summons “, said Rotterdam police in a statement. “There are wounded on the shots drawn” during this event that turned to the riot, “she confirmed, without specifying the number. The peach police repeatedly pushed out the protesters, in particular deploying a water gun, was the same source known.

Local authorities have prohibited gatherings in the area to prevent new violence. “This is a very serious situation that requires an action of the highest priority,” says the emergency order by the municipality of Rotterdam to prohibit these gatherings. The busy main station of this port city has also been closed because of the disorders.

Reintroduction of a partial confinement

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had announced a week ago the reintroduction of a partial confinement with a series of sanitary restrictions to cope with a threshold never reached CVIV-19 cases.

Bars and restaurants must close at 8 pm (local and time of Paris), at least until 4 December. Citizens are called not to accommodate more than four people home and do teleworking, “unless it is really not possible”. Public events are removed and football matches played in camera. The schools remain open and the outings outside the authorized home.

The Government also plans to restrict access to restoration and leisure sites after the three-week period to the only vaccinated or covid-19 people, as well as those with a negative test, which has been strongly criticized by Parliament this week.

Fonts between police and protesters had already broken the day the measures had been announced, and the police had also used a water barrel to disperse protesters in The Hague. The police also arrested fifteen people last Saturday in a northern city of the Netherlands after clashes between the police and hundreds of people with dissatisfied with the anticipated closure of the bars because of COVID-19.

More than 21,000 new coronavirus contaminations have been reported Friday in the Netherlands.

/Media reports.