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Catalonia referendum: Firefighters attacked by Spanish police as they form human shield to protect voters | Catalonia referendum: Firefighters attacked by Spanish police as they form human shield to protect voters |
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Spanish police have been filmed apparently attacking Catalan firefighters who had formed a human shield around people trying to vote in the region's independence referendum. | Spanish police have been filmed apparently attacking Catalan firefighters who had formed a human shield around people trying to vote in the region's independence referendum. |
Footage posted on social media appeared to show several riot officers kicking and using batons to beat men in firefighters' uniforms, amid growing violence in Barcelona and surrounding districts. | |
The mayor of Barcelona, the region's capital, said more than 460 people had been injured in clashes between police and voters. | |
Officers have used batons and - in one incident in Barcelona - rubber bullets to remove people from polling stations across the region, with separate footage showing police seizing ballot boxes and smashing their way in to polling centres. | |
Police broke down doors to force entry into voting stations as defiant Catalans shouted 'Out with the occupying forces!" and sang the anthem of the wealthy northeastern region. | |
The aggressive tactics of Spanish authorities has prompted widespread and growing international condemnation. | |
Belgium's prime minister, Charles Michel, called for political dialogue in Spain and tweeted "violence can never be the answer!" | |
Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said: "Regardless of views on independence, we should all condemn the scenes being witnessed." | |
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Police violence against citizens in Catalonia is shocking. The Spanish government must act to put an end to this now." | |
And Slovenian Prime Minister Miroslav Tserar said he was "worried" about the situation. | |
"I call for political dialogue, the rule of law and peaceful solutions," he said. | |
The referendum, declared illegal by Spain's central government, has thrown the country into its worst constitutional crisis in decades and deepened a centuries-old rift between Madrid and Barcelona. | |
Despite the police action, hundreds-strong queues of people formed in cities and villages throughout the region to cast their votes. At one Barcelona polling station, elderly people and those with children entered first. | |
"I'm so pleased because despite all the hurdles they've put up, I've managed to vote," said Teresa, a 72-year-old pensioner in Barcelona who had stood in line for six hours. | |
The ballot will have no legal status as it has been blocked by Spain's Constitutional Court and Madrid for being at odds with the 1978 constitution. | |
A minority of around 40 percent of Catalans support independence, polls show, although a majority want to hold a referendum on the issue. The region of 7.5 million people has an economy larger than that of Portugal. | |
However much voting takes place, a "yes" result is likely, given that most of those who support independence are expected to cast ballots while most of those against it are not. | |
Additional reporting by agencies |