German police expected to clear activists from condemned coal village

German police managed to block off the contested mining village of Lützerath on Wednesday and began clearing the site after a stand-off with activists opposed to its planned use for coal mining, reported dpa.

The western German hamlet has become the latest flashpoint in a long-running battle between climate protesters - who are demanding a radical rethink of the government's climate change policies - and the authorities.

Scuffles had erupted as police entered Lützerath on early Wednesday to clear the site, which the German energy giant RWE plans to mine for lignite, or brown coal.

However, observers said police had apparently not encountered the fierce resistance they had feared, despite a few petrol bombs, stones and fireworks being thrown.

The federal government strongly condemned the activists' violent resistance. "We have no understanding for this," said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin.

The interior minister for the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, Herbert Reul, said he was "bewildered" by the attacks on police officers.

By the afternoon, the police started removing activists from trees and platforms, using lifting platforms in some cases, according to a dpa reporter at the scene.

At the entrance to Lützerath, excavators began demolition work. One of the town signs was removed in the early afternoon.

Construction work began on a 1.5-kilometre perimeter fence, which was expected to be completed by the end of the day, according to an RWE spokesman.

The residents of the village, some 40 kilometres west of Cologne, left the site long ago. But activists have occupied several buildings there for months and their numbers have swelled in recent weeks.

The police had beefed up their presence around the village over the past days. Early on Wednesday they announced by loudspeaker that anyone staying in the area "must face the prospect of direct coercion" to leave.

A spokesperson for the activists responded to the police operation by saying that "the people are completely determined to stay, to hold out and to protect the trees and the buildings."

The protesters in Lützerath had been told to expect the eviction after a regional court ruled on Monday that it could legally could go ahead.

On top of barricading houses, the activists have built some 25 tree houses in Lützerath. According to police estimates from Tuesday, about 300 protesters were staying there.

Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach had predicted that the operation could be one of the most challenging in recent years, and called on reinforcements from police forces across the country.