Belgian police have used water cannon and teargas to disperse masked anarchists in Brussels. The anarchists, wielding cobblestones and metal staves, attacked two banks and a police station in Brussels during an anti-globalisation demonstration outside today's EU summit.
Witnesses said that the rioters smashed the windows of the banks in a square about two miles from the Laeken royal palace where the summit was being held. They chanted: "Good for the rich, bad for the poor. We don't want your capitalist war."
They also hurled a metal barrier through the windows of a police station near the square as riot control units and water cannon moved into place.
The riots erupted after about 8,000 demonstrators had marched peacefully through Brussels calling for an end to war and to economic inequalities. The march followed a larger demonstration yesterday by some 80,000 trade unionists that passed quietly.
Protesters have increasingly concentrated the anti-war theme since before the United States launched the war in Afghanistan, following the September 11 attacks. Peter Lahti of the Swedish committee for the Workers' International said that they see how the capitalist system creates endless poverty. "We believe that's the fundamental reason behind the war."
The clashes today are the first protests to turn violent since 11 September. They follow similar clashes in Gothenburg and Genoa during the year. One protestor was shot dead in Genoa as the protests deteriorated into running battles between armed police and demonstrators.
