70 Hurt in Rome 'Occupy' Protests

Some protesters break away, torching cars and clashing with cops
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 15, 2011 10:46 AM CDT
Updated Oct 15, 2011 4:45 PM CDT
Occupy Wall Street Protests in Rome Turn Violent as Some Demonstrators Torch Cars, Clash With Police
An Italian paramilitary police officer, his face covered with blood, adjusts his helmet.   (AP Photo/Angelo Carconi)

The protests in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street taking place around the world today have remained largely peaceful—with the exception of Rome. As the BBC describes it, 70 people were injured—three seriously—after a group broke away from the larger demonstration and wreaked havoc, torching cars, smashing windows, throwing bottles and rocks at police, and tossing firecrackers and incendiary devices at banks. Offices of the Italian defense ministry were set ablaze. Police responded with water cannons.

Two news crews were assaulted, and dozens have been injured in the unrest, the AP reports. Local media report that four members of an anarchist group were arrested before the march began. Mayor Gianni Alemanno blamed "a few thousand thugs from all over Italy, and possibly from all over Europe." (More Occupy Wall Street stories.)

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