Police opened fire on anti-lockdown protesters in the Dutch city of Rotterdam Friday ahead of demonstrations in several European cities against new Covid restrictions.
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb told reporters about police officers “felt it necessary to draw their weapons to defend themselves” more than once after protesters tore through the city’s central shopping district, setting fires in their wake.
Describing the scenes as “an orgy of violence,” he added that “people were injured,” after officers “shot at protesters,” although he could not provide information on the extent of their injuries.
At least seven people had been injured in the clashes, police said in a statement on Twitter, which added that officers had also been injured in the clashes. Several arrests had been made, police said.
The protests erupted after the Netherlands became the first western European nation to impose a partial lockdown since the summer as Covid cases soared across the country, reaching record numbers in recent days, with Thursday seeing 23,000 new infections recorded in a single day.
The lockdown, which is set to last for at least three weeks, will see restaurants, bars and essential shops closing by 8 p.m. and non-essential retail shops and services shuttered by 6 p.m. Social gatherings in the home have also been limited to groups of four.
While the partial lockdown has sparked a backlash reminiscent of violent protests that broke out over Covid restrictions in the Netherlands back in January, the western European country is not alone in facing opposition to the return of Covid measures.