Stunning photos: G20 protests in Hamburg, Germany turn violentBy John Boyd, Chron.com / Houston Chronicle Updated 1:01 pm, Friday, July 7, 2017
Police Forces clash with protesters during a march on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Leaders of the G20 group of nations are arriving in Hamburg today for the July 7-8 economic summit and authorities are bracing for large-scale and disruptive protest efforts and heavy protests are expected tonight at the 'Welcome to Hell' anti-G20 protest. Photo:
Riot police chase protesters on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, northern Germany, where leaders of the world's top economies gather for a G20 summit. Protesters clashed with police and torched patrol cars in fresh violence ahead of the G20 summit, police said. German police and protestors had clashed already the day before at an anti-G20 march, with police using water cannon and tear gas to clear a hardcore of masked anti-capitalist demonstrators, AFP reporters said. IMAGE 1 OF 60 Police Forces clash with protesters during a march on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Leaders of the G20 group of nations are arriving in Hamburg today for the July 7-8 economic summit and authorities are bracing for large-scale and disruptive protest efforts and heavy protests are expected tonight at the 'Welcome to Hell' anti-G20 protest.
What began as a demonstration from groups of generally anti-Capitalist protesters aimed at the leaders of the world's most powerful countries has turned into violent and destructive protests in the streets of Hamburg, Germany.
Cars have been burned, property damaged, countless protesters arrested and at least 160 police officers injured in skirmishes between police and protesters at the annual G20 conference.
Held annually, the G20 – or "Group of 20" – summit calls together the government leaders and bank headss of the world's 19 largest national economies, plus the European Union, to address global financial issues.
GERMANY, Hamburg: Crowds disperse after a massive protest against the G20 summit took over the streets of Hamburg, Germany on July 6, 2017.
Media: Newzulu / Benjamin Peters
Just as the meeting has grown in stature each year since its founding, so have the protests.
The 2017 protests began Thursday when demonstrators carrying signs reading "Welcome to Hell" and "smashG20" with faux blood stains greeted the Group of 20 leaders on the day before the conference began.
Police attempted to break up protesters with batons, pepper spray and water canons, leaving both demonstrators and innocents scrambling to avoid the chaos. However, protests and violence continued.
"Every peaceful protest is welcome," German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told the publication Bild on Friday, "but that is no free pass for unrestrained rampage."
See some of the most dramatic images to come from the G20 protests in Hamburg, Germany in the photos above.
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