Reuters 2007-06-24

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) – More than a dozen police officers were injured on Sunday when they broke up clashes between right- and left-wing extremists overnight in the northern German port city of Rostock, German police said.

Police said that during the night there was an attack on a shop frequented by right-wing extremists. The shop has previously been targeted by left-wing extremists, they said.

“The police arrested 40 people from the right- and left-wing spectrum,” Rostock police said in a statement. They have been charged with disturbing the peace, causing bodily harm, damaging property and other crimes, it said.

Police were called to the scene shortly before midnight on Saturday when a large group of left wingers, some dressed in black, was spotted heading towards the shop.

When police attempted to intervene and prevent a violent clash between the rival groups, the police were attacked by around 150 leftists with stones and bottles, the statement said.

Of the 200 police officers involved, 14 were injured. The statement gave no details about their injuries.

Before a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in nearby Heiligendamm earlier this month, thousands of anti-capitalist protesters converged on Rostock where they engaged in violent clashes with police.