The mayor of Rotterdam has condemned violence at protests against Covid-19 measures in the Dutch port city, in which seven people were wounded and more than 20 arrested.
Crowds of several hundred rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests yesterday evening. Police responded with warning shots and water cannons.
"Police were forced to draw their weapons and even fire direct shots," Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb told a press conference this morning.
Dutch justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus said in a statement that the "extreme violence" against police and fire fighters in Rotterdam was "repulsive".
"The right to protest is very important in our society but what we saw last night was simply criminal behaviour," Mr Grapperhaus said.
Authorities said they had arrested more than 20 people and expected to detain others, as the city centre where the riots took place is extensively monitored by security cameras.
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Protesters had gathered to voice opposition to government plans to restrict access to indoor venues to people who have a "corona pass", showing they have been vaccinated or have already recovered from an infection.
At least one police car was set on fire during the protest, a police spokesman confirmed to AFP. The spokesman would not confirm the number of people injured.
Several electric scooters and other items were also torched, with several hundred protesters involved in the riots, images on Dutch media and social media showed.
Local authorities issued an emergency order banning people from gathering in the area in a bid to prevent further violence.
Rotterdam's busy main railway station had also been closed as a result of the disturbances.
"This is a very serious situation which requires action with the highest priority," said the emergency order by the Rotterdam municipality.
"It is therefore necessary to issue this emergency order so as to maintain public order and to protect the safety of persons."
The pass is also available to people who have not been vaccinated, but have proof of a negative test.
The Netherlands re-imposed some lockdown measures last weekend for an initial three weeks in an effort to slow a resurgence of coronavirus contagion, but daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.
Authorities reported a record of more than 23,000 new cases on Thursday, well above the previous daily high of 13,000 reached in December 2020.
