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Hundreds arrested in Danish riots Extra police calm Danish rioting
(about 8 hours later)
Danish police have arrested almost 600 people in Copenhagen, in three days of violent protests over the eviction of squatters from a youth centre. Unrest has continued in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, for a third night but a heavy police presence has prevented any serious violence.
Some 2,000 people attended a peaceful demonstration on Saturday, but police are braced for more clashes overnight. Fires were lit at a number of locations but protests in the Noerrebro and Christiania districts were dispersed.
About 50 arrests were made overnight, bringing to more than 600 those held since the unrest began on Thursday.
The riots started after an anti-terror squad raid to evict squatters from the Youth House (Ungdomshuset) building.The riots started after an anti-terror squad raid to evict squatters from the Youth House (Ungdomshuset) building.
Vandals have also painted Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue pink, but it is unclear if this is linked to the riots. Text messages
In the worst clash on Saturday night more than 30 people were arrested near the enclave of Christiania after protesters built and then lit barricades.
Molotov cocktails were thrown in a protest in Noerrebro but it was quelled by the heavy police presence.
In pictures: Danish riots
Police had been reinforced from other districts and had brought in security vans from Sweden.
There had been fears of major disturbances as protest organisers tried to rally supporters through text messages.
Police spokesman Lars Borg said: "We are very happy that the situation was so quiet. The people who want to demonstrate have been more... aware that the things they are doing are not the right things to do."
Police said they arrested about 100 activists in raids on houses, schools and hostels. About half were foreigners who police said would be expelled.
Earlier on Saturday, 2,000 people attended a peaceful demonstration.
Left-wing activists have occupied the youth centre in the Noerrebro district since 1982, but it was sold by the city in 2000 to a Christian fundamentalist group.Left-wing activists have occupied the youth centre in the Noerrebro district since 1982, but it was sold by the city in 2000 to a Christian fundamentalist group.
That group obtained a court eviction order last year - but the activists vowed not to leave, saying the council had no right to sell the building while it was still in use.That group obtained a court eviction order last year - but the activists vowed not to leave, saying the council had no right to sell the building while it was still in use.
Foreign activists
Police have been drafted in from outside Copenhagen in readiness for trouble, with activists reportedly using text messages to urge further protests.
In pictures: Danish riots
Officers in riot gear used tear gas to disperse rioters in the early hours of Saturday, as cars were set alight and petrol bombs thrown.
"In the last 10 years we haven't had riots like we've seen in the past two days," Copenhagen police spokesman Flemming Steen Munch said.
Police say scores of those arrested since the protests began on Thursday have been foreigners, many of them from Germany, Sweden and Norway.
Left-wing politicians who spoke at the demonstration in Copenhagen's central square on Saturday appealed to young activists to stop the violence.
The BBC's Julian Isherwood in Copenhagen says parts of the city centre resemble a war zone, with the remains of barricades, dug up cobble stones and burnt-out cars.
As darkness descended on the capital, and despite the detention of many activists, the Danish police authorities were preparing for another night of trouble, he said.
But miraculously, he said, despite widespread destruction to property and vehicles, only two people have been slightly injured.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has condemned the rioters.
Last December, a protest in Copenhagen against the eviction plans turned violent, and more than 300 people were arrested.Last December, a protest in Copenhagen against the eviction plans turned violent, and more than 300 people were arrested.
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