ERKELENZ (dpa-AFX) - In the lignite town of Lützerath, the evacuation continues in part on Thursday evening, even in the dark. "Objects that have been approached, we are still working finished," said a police spokesman. Activists who had embedded or chained themselves would also be freed despite the darkness, he added. "In such cases, we have to provide assistance," the spokesman said. However, there were no plans to tackle the evacuation of other buildings during the night, he added.

Parts of Luetzerath were brightly lit by floodlights. Trees were felled and shrubs removed, a dpa reporter reported. Wooden houses were also demolished in the darkness.

The police action the previous night had caused discussion. Climate activist Luisa Neubauer had accused the police on Thursday that it was dangerous and incomprehensible that the eviction had continued into the night on Wednesday evening in the dark.

A dpa reporter reported from that night that police operations were largely limited to dealing with activists' actions. For example, police officers took activists off the roof of a hall from a height of about ten meters. Other forces untied an activist who was sitting in a wrecked car with her arm embedded in the ground through a hole in the vehicle./uho/gba/mhe/DP/men