German police clear blockades at village condemned for mine

Police officers carry a demonstrator to clear a road at Luetzerath near Erkelenz, Germany (Michael Probst/AP)

Several hundred climate activists tried to prevent heavy machinery from reaching an abandoned German village due to be cleared for the expansion of a coal mine, even as police pushed back protesters and removed road blocks ahead of a possible clearance this week.

The standoff between police and protesters followed a regional court’s decision on Monday rejecting a last-ditch bid by the activists to stay in the hamlet of Luetzerath, west of Cologne, which has become a battleground between the government and environmentalists.