May Day violence rocks German cities

By Erik Kirschbaum and Brian Rohan

BERLIN (Reuters) - Left-wing militants pelted riot police with stones, bottles and firecrackers in Berlin on Friday evening in the most severe May Day violence to hit the German capital in four years.

"There was a massive attack with stones and bottles thrown," said police spokesman Martin Otter. "There were also injuries on both sides, but we don't have any details on numbers at this point. Stones and bottles are still being thrown."

The attacks from about 400 militants on police accompanying a protest of about 5,000 leftists in the central Berlin district of Kreuzberg, a traditional hotbed of anarchist violence on Labour Day, was unusually fierce and began before darkness fell.

Authorities were bracing for violence with tension running high because of the economic crisis and rising unemployment.

There were clashes with police in the early hours of Friday in Berlin and in Hamburg. Several demonstrations turned violent across the country, with outbreaks reported in Ulm, Dortmund, Mainz and Verden.

Berlin remained tense and police expected further violence by the leftists, who were marching under a banner that read: "Capitalism means war and crisis."

The militants destroyed a bus station, a cafe and damaged cars in an outbreak of violence that began shortly before 9 p.m. (8 p.m.).

Police pursued a general policy of "de-escalation" but swooped in en masse to remove those spotted throwing stones.