German police remove barricades amid face-off with climate activists

German police on Tuesday said they had begun removing climate activists' barricades from a village that has become the latest flashpoint in the fight between the German authorities and protesters over climate change policy, reported dpa.

Energy giant RWE intends to bulldoze Lützerath, in western Germany, in order to mine the area. Residents have long since left, but activists have occupied several buildings there for months, and their numbers have swelled in recent weeks.

The eviction of the climate activists from the village itself will not begin on Tuesday however, the police told demonstrators over loudspeakers at the site.

"The police ask you once again to leave your blockades immediately," police said in their announcements. Otherwise, they continued, the blockades would have to be cleared "by force."

Several hundred activists had formed human chains and set up a sit-in blockade, with some participants digging themselves about half a metre deep into the ground.

They have been joined by politicians such as Janine Wissler, the leader of the hard-left Die Linke party, as well as high-profile environmental activists such as Luisa Neubauer.

"The point is that we are blocking the access to Lützi," one activist told the dpa, referring to the village Lützerath.

Among other things, the activists shouted "Get lost!", "Shame on you!", "To the barricades!" and "Protecting the climate is not a crime!" Most of the activists were masked.

The activists in Lützerath had been told that they can expect the eviction to begin tomorrow or in the days following. A regional court ruled on Monday that the eviction could go ahead.