A demonstration against health measures scheduled for Saturday in Amsterdam was called off after a violent riot broke out in Rotterdam on Friday evening, the organization said.
“
Yesterday evening, all hell broke loose in Rotterdam,
” anti-sanitary measures organization United We Stand Europe said on Facebook, referring to the chaos that erupted in the center of the port city on Friday evening, according to the reports. police at least seven injured, also among the police.
Read also Netherlands: injured by police gunfire during a riot in Rotterdam
A demonstration against partial containment to fight the Covid-19 pandemic turned into a "
riot
" Friday night in central Rotterdam, and dozens of people were arrested.
“
Warning shots were fired several times.
At one point the situation became so dangerous that officers felt compelled to shoot at targets,
”police said.
Demonstrators were protesting against health restrictions and the government's plan to restrict access by unvaccinated people to certain sites.
"Considerable" destruction
Maintaining the demonstration in Amsterdam "
did not seem fair to us
", stressed the organization United We Stand Europe, deploring the injuries of two demonstrators, which had also been announced by Dutch media.
"
The riots and extreme violence against police, riot police and firefighters last night in Rotterdam are horrible to see,
" Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ferd Grapperhaus reacted on Saturday, lamenting the destruction "
considerable
”.
"
The men and women who take to the streets every day for our safety have been bombarded with stones and fireworks,
" he said in a statement.
Read alsoCovid-19: 15 arrests in the Netherlands during protests against the new restrictions
"
The police and the prosecution are doing everything to track down, prosecute and punish these rioters,
" he said.
.
“
After big disturbances yesterday (...) the balance is now being made.
There is a lot of damage, people have been injured and people are being held,
”local police said on Twitter Saturday morning.
“
Right now the full picture is being drawn up.
The investigation into the rioters begins,
”she stressed.
A demonstration planned in the southern city of Breda on Saturday is meanwhile maintained, according to local media.
Several people have claimed on social media that someone died in the Rotterdam riot.
"
This was not reported either on our side or the National Directorate of Criminal Investigations,
" retorted the Rotterdam police.
See also -
Covid-19: Hundreds of people protest against new restrictions in the Netherlands