Dutch police clash with lockdown protesters in Netherlands

Dutch police used water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters in Amsterdam demonstrating against a new lockdown curfew that was introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus.

It comes after rioting youths set a coronavirus testing facility on fire in Urk, a small fishing village in the Netherlands on Saturday.

Police clashed with protesters taking part in the outlawed anti-lockdown demonstration in Amsterdam’s Museum Square on Sunday.

Officials said many of the protesters failed to social distance and were not wearing protective face masks.

Video footage showed the water cannon spraying a group of people against the wall of the Van Gogh museum. 

 

 Police in Eindhoven, 80 miles south of Amsterdam, also used a water cannon and tear gas against a crowd of demonstrators that included supporters of the anti-immigrant group Pegida.

Eindhoven police said they made at least 30 arrests and warned people to stay away from the city centre. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

It was the worst violence to hit the Netherlands since the pandemic began and the second straight Sunday that police had clashed with protesters in Amsterdam.

The country has been in a tough lockdown since mid-December which is due to continue at least until February 9.

The unrest followed a night of rioting in Urk on the first night of a curfew imposed by the Dutch government to rein in the spread of the more transmissible variant of the coronavirus.