Anti-landfill protesters barge into regional government offices in Corfu

Protesters opposing the operation of a landfill in southeast Corfu clashed with police and barged into the Ionian island's regional government offices of on Tuesday, causing “material damage,” Corfu Governor Nikoletta Pandi told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

Dozens of protesters initially clashed with police outside the building, before a smaller delegation barged into the building and demanded a meeting with the environment deputy, Dionysis Tsoukas.

“These people justify the label of extremists. They lambasted the deputy governor for energy and the environment, they set off fire extinguishers, putting everyone in the office at risk, and they caused material damage to public property,” the governor said.

“The situation got out of hand when they were informed by Mr Tsoukas that even though the Lefkimmi landfill has sustained damage to its lining, it will be granted an operating license,” the secretary of the Alefchimon Association, which is among those protesting the dump, Yiannis Pandis, admitted.

Tuesday's incident was the latest of a string of clashes between the authorities and residents of the small town of Lefkimmi who object to the operation of the landfill, which they say is an environmental blight.

There are reports of an elderly man being injured outside the regional government offices, though no additional details are available.