LÜTZERATH (dpa-AFX) - Before the soon planned evacuation of the village of Lützerath in the Rhineland lignite mining area, there were minor scuffles between police officers and climate activists on Monday. The activists threw firecrackers, bottles and stones, and there were scuffles, dpa reporters at the scene reported. A police spokesman said criminal proceedings were being initiated for breach of the peace because of the firecrackers and stones thrown.

Earlier, activists had positioned themselves on the access road to Lützerath behind a burning barricade. This barricade was cleared away by the police in the afternoon, as was a superstructure over the access road. Several activists who had been on it were brought down by height rescuers, the police spokesman said. "This is not the beginning of the evacuation," he stressed. Rather, he said, preparatory work was being carried out for the planned eviction in the middle of the month. Access roads would have to remain clear.

Lützerath, near Erkelenz in the Heinsberg district, is to be dredged for coal extraction. However, activists who want to fight for the place live in the houses. "The coal under Lützerath must remain in the ground," said Antje Bussberg of the initiative "All Villages Remain" on Monday. "Every person who spends an afternoon seriously considering the causes of global warming knows that every additional ton of coal that is burned endangers our survival on this planet. That's why we will not stand idly by and watch the dismantling of Lützerath."

In contrast, energy company RWE said, "The use of the former settlement this winter is necessary to ensure a secure supply of power plants in the midst of the energy crisis." The legality has been conclusively confirmed by the courts, he said. "All the original residents of Lützerath have left the site," RWE said.

Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach, who was in charge of the eviction, addressed the activists directly in a letter Monday. "I wish the eviction of Lützerath could have been avoided. But it is - according to everything I know - unfortunately unavoidable," he wrote. He, too, shared concerns about further global warming and the consequences of failing to meet the 1.5-degree target agreed under international law.

However, he said, it is not the police who decide whether coal is mined under Lützerath. "To refuse to implement this decision, which was reached professionally and in accordance with the rule of law, would call into question basic democratic rules based on the rule of law and open the floodgates to arbitrary, extraneous decisions," Weinspach said.

He added that the police are focusing on de-escalation and transparency. "We will only use coercive means if it is not otherwise possible in terms of a proportionate and consistent intervention or for the prosecution of criminal offenses," Weinspach assured. "I appeal not to link the protest against an eviction with the commission of criminal acts."/DP/ngu