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Police, protesters clash ahead of WTO conference
Swiss police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Saturday at hooded protesters who broke windows and set cars alight during a demonstration ahead of a major WTO conference in Geneva.
Thousands marched in the protest ahead of the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting beginning on Monday, with the vast majority of demonstrators not participating in the violence.
Organisers later decided to end the demonstration due to the violence and because police prevented the march from continuing to WTO headquarters, the Swiss ATS news agency reported.
Some 200 violent protesters infiltrated the march and "began to inflict damage right from the start of the demonstration," police spokesman Patrick Puhl said. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to stop them.
Officers had moved in after protesters broke windows at a jewellers, banks and a hotel. Vehicles parked along the march route, particularly luxury cars, were damaged, with at least four set alight, Puhl said.