Water cannon has been deployed on the streets of Leipzig, Germany against a protest which appeared to include neo-Nazis and PEGIDA members, while a larger left-wing counter demonstration saw fireworks and rocks and rocks thrown.
The march was comparatively small for German standards, with around 1,000 people from different anti-immigration and far-right groups. Police mobilised around 800 officers to the demonstration, which passed though southern Leipzig.
Both left and right-wing groups threw missiles at police, and it is unclear which side initiated the violence.
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The right-wing groups are thought to included the neo-Nazi party Die Rechte (the Right), Offensive für Deutschland (Offensive for Germany), and possibly a division of the PEGIDA movement called Thugida.
Lutz Bachmann, the Germany founder and leader of PEGIDA, wrote on Facebook: “Well, that is the result, if you are not going deal with terrorists with the required degree of hardness”.
He said the, “Pegida strollers defend themselves when they get pushed aggressively”.
Online video shows fires burning on the streets, stun and smoke grenades in use, and water cannon hitting the demonstration.
Ambulances are on the scene and several people are thought to have been injured.
The march was met by a large and aggressive left-wing counter demonstration, according to the German language magazine Der Spiegel.
Reports suggest there were “massive clashes”, with the police forced to deploy water cannon after demonstrators started throwing stones at police.
Masked left-wingers from the counter protest threw stones, bottles and fireworks at police. Police respond with tear gas, smoke grenades and water cannon, Der Spiegel reports.
The left-wingers also attempted to erect barriers to block the streets and stage a “sit in”.
Police have said there is a “threatening atmosphere,” and a “strong potential for violence” in the city of about 550,000 people.
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