Friction over Strefi Hill spruce-up in central Athens

Police said they detained 19 people on Wednesday morning on Strefi Hill in the Exarchia district of Athens for verbally accosting a crew of surveyors who had gone to the site for measurements, as part of the redevelopment of the hill.

The project was assigned by the municipality to a company which is expected to start work in August.

According to the police, the crew had been there since morning and there was a riot squad to protect it. However, local residents, as well as others, who oppose the whole process, gathered at the site and attempted to block the crew, verbally attacking the surveyors.

The latest tension in Exarchia follows protests against the construction of a metro station in the central square. Crews started working on Tuesday under police protection from protesters and some local residents who are against a metro line in their area, not least one running through the central square.