ERKELENZ (dpa-AFX) - Before the eviction expected from this Wednesday in the Rhineland lignite village of Lützerath, the police is pulling together strong forces. Around the place occupied by climate activists were dozens of police emergency vehicles on the road early Wednesday morning, as reported by dpa reporters. It was raining heavily and persistently, and the ground was soggy.

According to Aachen police, the operation to clear the site will begin this Wednesday at the earliest. The upcoming evacuation of the protest village is one of the most challenging operations in recent years, according to Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach. Police are receiving support from across the country for the operation. Activists have erected about 25 tree houses, some of them at great heights.

Lützerath is a district of Erkelenz, a city with 43,000 inhabitants in western North Rhine-Westphalia. The hamlet, located in the middle of fields, is now right on the edge of the Garzweiler open-pit lignite mine. The coal underneath is to be extracted for power generation./mhe/DP/mis