Climate activists clash with police as German ghost town set to be engulfed by coal mine

Berlin — Police clashed Tuesday with climate change activists occupying a tiny town in Germany that's set to be engulfed by a large coal mine. Several hundred activists moved into the town of Luetzerath weeks ago, after its residents moved out and energy giant RWE took ownership of all of its buildings and land. RWE has been approved to demolish the hamlet to expand a nearby mine and extract the lignite (brown coal) reserves under the town.

The activists have resisted efforts to clear them from homes and makeshift shelters, including tents and treehouses, in the town, but when police started trying to push them out Tuesday to make way for demolition equipment, some refused to go.

Videos posted to social media showed large numbers of police and activists, locked arm-in-arm, pushing and shoving, and the clashes grew serious enough that police resort to tear gas on a couple occasions. Police could be seen detaining people on the ground, but there was no immediate word on the number of arrests.