‘Welcome to Hell’: dozens of police hurt in clashes with G20 protesters in Hamburg

Dozens of police were injured in clashes with protesters before a G20 summit in Hamburg on Thursday, tarnishing the start of a meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes will cement her role as a stateswoman as she seeks re-election in September.

Merkel, who is campaigning for a fourth term, can ill afford the images of chaos and disharmony that dominated news coverage of the summit. The summit, which starts in earnest on Friday, is a chance for her to polish her diplomatic credentials but would be disastrous if marred by widespread violence.

She met US President Donald Trump for an hour on Thursday evening, but less than an hour later police clashed with anti-capitalist demonstrators near the summit venue, firing water cannons and pepper spray at hundreds of black-clad protesters after they threw bottles.

Some 12,000 protesters joined the so-called “Welcome to Hell” demonstration. Of those, about 1,000 were covering their faces, which is illegal during protests in Germany, according to police.

Police said a total of 76 officers were injured. One officer was taken to hospital with an eye injury after a firecracker exploded near him, according to a police statement.

Two others were also taken to hospital.

An undisclosed number of demonstrators were injured.