Salonica clashes lead to 1 arrest
A 19-year-old woman was arrested, and several youths detained for questioning, after a policeman was injured in a clash with self-styled anarchists inside Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University early yesterday morning. Officers entered the university grounds following clashes with more than 20 hooded youths. The youths had been emerging from the university grounds to launch homemade petrol bombs at riot police – out in force due to the city’s annual trade fair. Officers initially responded by firing tear gas but later entered the campus to pursue the youths. Later yesterday, police insisted that their actions had been justified. «The police acted according to the law, and subject to special orders issued by the prosecutor’s office, thus preventing the continuation of criminal activities,» a local police statement said. The 19-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly hitting an officer on the head with a metal club. It was unclear how seriously the officer was injured. Officers confiscated several rucksacks, allegedly packed with the ingredients needed to make Molotov cocktail bombs. More than 20 youths were taken in for questioning in connection with the unrest which caused widespread damage to the university campus. Meanwhile in Athens, also early yesterday, a group of around 15 youths hurled homemade petrol bombs at the main police station in Zografou, near a students’ residence hall.
