Italian police, demonstrators clash in protest against Austrian fence
Source: Gulf News / Reuters
Brenner, Austria: A demonstration against a plan to restrict access through the Brenner Pass between Italy and Austria turned violent on Saturday, with Italian police firing tear gas at hundreds of protesters throwing stones and firecrackers.
Austria has said it plans to erect a fence at the Alpine crossing it shares with Italy to “channel” people. Part of Europe’s borderless Schengen zone, Brenner is one of the routes that refugees use as they head towards wealthy northern Europe.
Two police officers were injured in the clashes, the head of a local Italian police union, Fulvio Coslovi, said. He said around 10 demonstrators were being held by police. Local police in Tyrol, Austria, said more than 600 protesters showed up to the third violent demonstration at the Brenner Pass in just over a month, meeting at the Brenner station in Italy.
TV footage showed clouds of smoke filling the Brenner railway station as groups of protesters, their faces masked against the fumes, hurled stones and smoke bombs as they faced off against lines of police in riot gear. Estimates on the number of demonstrators varied between 250 and 600.
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