G8 protesters go on rampage

2005-07-06 11:09

Gleneagles - Dozens of masked protesters, some armed with iron bars, went on the rampage in central Scotland on Wednesday, just hours before the start of the Group of Eight summit of rich nations, police said.

Police officers clashed with 200 demonstrators, who had smashed cars and hurled bricks through the windows of a Burger King fast food restaurant in Stirling, less than an hour's drive from the Gleneagles resort where the G8 leaders will meet later on Wednesday.

Pitched battles erupted in the street, with the protestors - dressed in hooded tops with scarves obscuring their faces - hurling missiles at police officers and barricaded roads.

A spokesperson for Central Scotland Police said "isolated incidents" had taken place since the early hours.

"Police officers have come under attack and two arrests have been made so far," he said.

Britain's GMTV television showed pictures of black-clad anti-capitalist demonstrators blocking a highway with a tree. They also reportedly try to shut down a railway station.

It was the second outbreak of serious violence since protesters started gathering in Scotland ahead of the three-day G8 summit.

On Monday, demonstrators clashed with police in Edinburgh. Scores of people were arrested and about 20 police and activists suffered minor injuries.

More than 10 000 police have been deployed at Gleneagles and other parts of Scotland for the three-day summit of the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

The protesters on Wednesday morning appeared to rush down an embankment from a temporary "eco-camp", set up on the outskirts of Stirling.

Groups including the Black Block movement, which was prominent in the riots that scarred a G8 summit in Genoa in 2001, are thought to be involved in the violence, according to Britain's domestic Press Association.

It is believed that the gangs may include British, Italian, German and Spanish anarchists.

A demonstration of up to 5 000 people, organised by a leftist coalition and approved by local authorities, is to march to within shouting distance of Gleneagles from midday on Wednesday, as the G8 leaders start arriving.

- SAPA