German police clash with protesters at far-right party congress

Police maintain order outside the AfD congress venue on June 29.

Around 1,000 German police officers were deployed in the city of Essen as around 600 delegates attended the opening session of the national congress of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The congress began on June 29 and will last for two days.

"Some acts of violence and vandalism occurred in Ruettenscheld Square in Essen. Several protesters, some wearing hoods, attacked security forces. Police arrested several suspects," AFP quoted the North Westphalia state police as saying.

It is not yet clear whether any protesters were injured in the clashes that broke out at around 5:45 a.m. on June 29 (local time).

An estimated 100,000 protesters were in Essen during the AfD party's national congress. Police recorded around 1,000 of them as extremists. Authorities urged participants to avoid violence and protest peacefully.

This is also the AfD's first congress after the German far-right party achieved its best result in the European Parliament elections since its founding in 2013.

In the European Parliament elections in early June, AfD candidates won 16% of the vote in Germany, second only to the conservative opposition CDU-CSU alliance and ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD).

The AfD's national congress is being held to approve a number of key reforms, such as scrapping the co-chairmanship and moving to a system of one party chairman and one general secretary, as well as electing personnel for leadership positions.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canh-sat-duc-dung-do-nguoi-bieu-tinh-o-dai-hoi-dang-cuc-huu-185240629190208173.htm