Nuclear waste is a major political issue in Germany Police have clashed with activists trying to halt a train carrying nuclear waste from France to Germany.
Officers used batons, pepper spray, tear gas and water cannon to disperse about 250 activists who were trying to sabotage railway tracks.
The activists hurled fireworks at officers and set a police vehicle on fire, police said.
Earlier, the train was halted after activists lowered themselves on ropes from a bridge over the tracks.
The clashes near Dannenberg, northern Germany, followed peaceful protests against the train on Saturday by tens of thousands of people.
About a dozen protesters were injured on Sunday, demonstrators were quoted as saying by local media reports. Police gave no reports of injuries on their side.
The train, made up of 14 wagons containing 123 tonnes of nuclear waste in glass and steel containers, is heading to a storage site in Gorleben, northern Germany.
Activists maintain that neither the waste containers nor the site are safe.
The BBC’s Berlin correspondent Stephen Evans says that the plan is to transfer the waste to lorries for the final part of the journey but the police and protesters are now trying to outmanoeuvre each other in the countryside along the route.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to extend the lifespan of Germany’s 17 nuclear power plants despite strong public opposition has highlighted the issue of the waste trains.
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