ERKELENZ (dpa-AFX) - During the evacuation of the settlement Lützerath, more than 100 officers were injured, according to police. How many have injured themselves without external impact, is currently not yet broken down, said a police spokesman on Monday on request. On Saturday alone, when demonstrators had broken through police lines, more than 80 injured police officers were counted.

On the part of activists and protesters, the number of injured since police operations began on Jan. 8 was estimated at around 300. On Saturday, there were "around 120 injured," said a spokesman for "Lützerath lebt." Another spokeswoman for the initiative spoke of "at least 90" injured on Saturday.

Especially the number of injured at the beginning of the police action had not been well documented and could only be estimated, the spokesman admitted. The estimate could also increase, he said, because protesters were still being called upon to report their injuries after the fact.

In one case, he said, a clinic called in the police when an injured activist wanted to be treated there anonymously. This did not exactly increase the willingness to report.

The police did not give a number of injured demonstrators and activists, but confirmed that on Saturday nine demonstrators had been taken to hospitals by ambulance. However, none of the demonstrators' lives were in danger, they said. Police had used water cannons, batons and pepper spray on Saturday.

In individual cases, criminal charges were filed against police officers ex officio, because video recordings gave rise to the suspicion of bodily harm in office, a spokesman for the NRW Ministry of the Interior confirmed on Monday. It is a matter of excessive or in the concrete situation unjustified baton use.

That on Saturday stones and pyrotechnics on policemen were thrown, confirmed both sides. However, the spokesman for "Lützerath lebt" denied that Molotov cocktails had been thrown.

NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) had said in a TV talk show about the events at the demonstration on Saturday: "Then at some point it got tighter and tighter. And then stones flew, then Molotov cocktails flew, then missiles flew."

"Mr. Reul's statement was based on conversations with people who were on the scene, as well as his own impressions from videos and pictures," a spokesman for the NRW Interior Ministry said. "It is also possible that pyrotechnics were ignited. This is currently being investigated. However, in the course of the entire eviction operation, Molotov cocktails were thrown several times by activists."

One of the Molotov cocktail throwers has been in custody since last Thursday, according to a decision by the Mönchengladbach District Court./fc/DP/jha