Stash of projectiles found ahead of Thursday march

Police found about 100 bottles and piles of rocks and construction material at an abandoned building in central Athens Tuesday, raising concern that extremist elements are preparing for trouble during Thursday’s commemoration of a student uprising against the then military regime 49 years ago.

Groups of self-defined anarchists and other leftist extremists have often clashed with police, usually at the end of the traditional march from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), also known as the Polytechnic, to the US Embassy.

Most clashes take place in the neighborhood of Exarchia, a haven for anarchist groups, next to the Polytechnic, and where the projectiles were found Tuesday. The severity varies each year and, lately, marches have gone on mostly quietly.

Police believe the bottles were to be used to make firebombs.