Two police officers injured in clashes with anarchists

No arrests were made on Thursday after clashes in the downtown Athens district of Exarchia between riot squads and self-styled anarchists resulted in the injury of two police officers, albeit lightly.

The clashes started shortly before 10 p.m. when a group of around 30 hooded men emerged from the historic Athens Polytechnic buildings and started pelting a riot squad on adjacent Tositsa Street with stones and Molotov cocktails. A second attack was launched just half an hour later against the riot detail on Harilaou Trikoupi, where the two officers were injured.

The clashes spread to Spyrou Trikoupi Street and police briefly cordoned off Patission Avenue until the tension was defused.

Police headquarters earlier this week banned separate meetings organized by the police union and anarchists in the Exarchia district, both scheduled for Thursday, amid fears of clashes.