Green activists injured, arrested

– Nine environmental activists were injured and 34 detained in an operation to evict protesters holed up in forest treehouses in a bid to block the expansion of an openpit coal mine, police said yesterday.

Police have mobilised against fierce resistance since last week to clear the demonstrators from Hambach Forest. Up to 4 000 police have been on the scene to remove 60 treehouses, some 25m off the ground, housing protesters.

The activists, who are protesting the expansion of energy giant RWE’s openpit mine, one of Europe’s largest, called for mass mobilisation to stop the forest being cleared. –

Berlin