Nuclear waste nears destination

Police evict protesters from the track

Police in northern Germany have been working through the night to remove anti-nuclear protesters who have been trying to stop a consignment of radioactive waste from reaching a storage site.

The demonstrators cemented themselves to rails on the path of a train carrying the waste from France to Dannenberg, near the storage facility at Gorleben.

Thousands of police in riot gear earlier used water cannon to disperse crowds of demonstrators during a tense stand-off.

A protester flashes a victory sign from on top of the train

A police spokesman said protesters had shot flares in the direction of police ranks. At least two police coaches have had their windows smashed.

The BBC Berlin correspondent, Rob Broomby, who is at the scene, said peaceful blocking tactics used by the protesters earlier were beginning to give way to more ruthless methods.

'Grave situation'

Police helicopters hovered overhead as the 12-hour operation started to transfer the six casks containing the nuclear waste from the train to lorries for the last leg to Gorleben.

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Our correspondent says this was always expected to be the most difficult part of the operation and the police are determined to keep control at all costs.

"The situation has become more grave. Protesters have fired flares on police, including helicopters, there are reports that activists are preparing attacks with vinegar acid and a police car was set on fire," the police spokesman said.

Police arrive in Dannenberg

Earlier, the train was briefly halted near the town of Dahlenburge about 14km (nine miles) from Dannenberg, after activists chained themselves to the track.

Thousands of protesters, many of them young and most wrapped up heavily against the unseasonably cold weather, have converged on Dannenberg.

Arrests

Organisers said that 10,000 people would try to block the trucks on Wednesday.

Police, meanwhile, have drawn up a line of armoured cars as a last line of defence.

They have called on demonstrators to remain peaceful. The last anti-nuclear demonstration in 1997 turned violent, leaving several injured.

A passenger train was used to evict protesters from the track

The clashes Dannenberg marked the end of a day of sporadic incidents by thousands of demonstrators as the train made its way 600km (325 miles) from the French border.

Dozens of people were arrested along the route.

More than 15,000 police have been deployed - the biggest such operation in Germany's post-war history.

The German Government - including its Green Party ministers - argues that the country has a moral duty to take back its reprocessed nuclear waste, but opponents see disrupting the shipments as the most effective way of forcing an early shutdown of the nuclear industry.

The looming confrontation at Gorleben follows a highly charged debate in Germany about nuclear power.

Last year, the coalition government of Social Democrats and Greens struck a deal to phase out nuclear energy.

But the compromise reached with the nuclear industry would allow some reactors to remain in service for more than 20 years - far too long for some anti-nuclear campaigners.

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