Police Break Up Hamburg Protest on Eve of G-20 With Water Cannons

  • ‘Welcome to Hell’ demonstration stopped in St. Pauli district
  • More than 15,000 police fanned out to protect German city

Protests Heat Up Outside G-20 Summit in Hamburg

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Hamburg police deployed a water cannon and pepper spray on Thursday against thousands protesting the Group of 20 summit, breaking up the march on the eve of the global gathering in Germany’s second-largest city.

As authorities tried to separate about 1,000 people belonging to a masked group and let the protest move forward, demonstrators tossed projectiles and set off fireworks. The already tense situation -- with the crowd shouting: "all of Hamburg hates the police" -- then turned chaotic as police responded with water and pepper spray.