Police begin removing pro-Palestinian activists at Berlin university
Police have begun clearing parts of Humboldt University (HU) in Berlin that have been occupied by pro-Palestinian activists.
Officers forcibly opened locked and partially barricaded doors, a police spokeswoman said on Thursday evening.
At the same time, the police escorted the people who left the building voluntarily outside and established their identities.
The spokeswoman could not say how many people were still in the building, and there was no information about whether anyone was injured people.
Shouts of "HU, shame on you" could be heard and, according to a dpa reporter, the atmosphere was heated.
A deadline set by the university management to clear the occupied rooms expired at 6 pm (1600 GMT).
On Thursday afternoon, University President Julia von Blumenthal held closed-door discussions with academics and squatters. Negotiations with the squatters then continued. Von Blumenthal also spoke to the police several times.
Around 50 activists of the group called Student Coalition Berlin have occupied several rooms at the Institute of Social Sciences since Wednesday afternoon.
The activists said that around 100 people spent the night at the university.
