Mass Arrests As Dutch Riot Police Struggle to Contain Anti-Lockdown Rage (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Some 240 people were arrested as unrest spread to at least 10 municipalities across the Netherlands, with riot police using water cannons, batons, dogs and horses to break up unauthorized anti-lockdown gatherings and riots.
Police faced off with curfew-defying crowds in The Hague, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Enschede, Venlo, Stein, Roermond, Oosterhout, Breda and elsewhere across the nation for the second day in a row on Sunday.
At least 190 people, including minors, were detained in Amsterdam alone, where some 1,500 protesters gathered at the central Museum Square, according to local media.
While most of the demonstrators were peaceful, some sitting on a field with their banners, authorities declared the entire gathering was illegal under the current Covid lockdown rules, and police forcefully dispersed it using water cannons and batons.
In Eindhoven, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, pelting fireworks and rocks at officers and police vans, while mounted cops charged the crowd and used tear gas against the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, a group of rioters in Enschede tried to smash windows at the Medisch Spectrum Twente, forcing the hospital to request additional security.
Later in the evening, multiple fires were burning in the streets of The Hague, with rioters reportedly setting a police motorcycle ablaze after forcing an officer to flee.
The mayor of Venlo was forced to issue an emergency order, after an unruly mob roamed the streets smashing storefronts, shooting fireworks and throwing stones.
Dutch Royal Military police were deployed to contain the unrest in Stein and Roermond.
Multiple acts of vandalism were also reported in Oosterhout.
Authorities in neighboring Breda and Tilburg both issued emergency decrees, giving police more power to restore public order.
Previously, following clashes on Saturday night, police arrested 25 people, while 3,600 more were fined for violating the lockdown orders.
