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Over 300 Youths Arrested in Protest in Copenhagen

Over 300 people were arrested Sunday night in Denmark`s capitol, Copenhagen, during a conflict that broke out between police and youths protesting the governments plans to evict squatters from a building in the downtown area. At least 4 policemen were injured by rocks, bottles, garbage cans and firecrackers thrown by the young protesters, mostly leftist activists.

The conflict began as angered youths held a demonstration in downtown Copenhagen. The police say the youths broke windows and created damage in the surrounding area. The police used teargas and armored vehicles so they could cut up the mob in to smaller more manageable groups. A police spokesman said that the youths were extremely violent and that the area looked like a battlefield. Many years have passed since Danish police was forced to use teargas in the streets of Copenhagen.

The conflict started when the authorities announced their plans to shut down the building which was used as headquarters for Marxist and anarchist youth in Denmark since the year 2000, when the city sold the building to a private developer. The current owner of the building received a court order to evict the youths from the building, but the young people living there since it was first taken by squatters in 1982 have vowed to defend their home and called for a political solution to be found. In the last protest held by leftist activists against the closer of the building two months ago, 263 youths were arrested.