BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, has warned against riots during the planned eviction of the occupied village of Lützerath. Peaceful protests are legitimate in a democracy, Haldenwang told the newspaper "taz." "However, the protest movement in Lützerath is very heterogeneous."

The protest becomes relevant for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution when left-wing extremists try to infiltrate peaceful democratic protests and instrumentalize them for their own purposes. "We already perceive attempts. We see that nationwide also violent left-wing extremists are mobilizing against the eviction and are already gathering on site. In part, there are calls for militant actions," Haldenwang said.

He referred to earlier protests in the Hambach and Dannenröder forests, where there had been "brutal action against the eviction." "In this respect, I also expect violent riots in Lützerath."

Energy company RWE wants to demolish the hamlet of Lützerath in western North Rhine-Westphalia in order to mine the coal below. To prevent this, climate activists are holding the otherwise uninhabited village. The Aachen police, who are responsible for Lützerath, which is located directly next to the Garzweiler open pit lignite mine, announced that the eviction is expected to begin on Wednesday./kli/DP/jha