
Anarchist protesters attempted to blind German police officers and helicopter pilots amid violent clashes during the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Almost 200 police officers have been wounded as an estimated 10,000 thugs went on the rampage for a second night in the northern German port city.

Shocking images show green lasers strobe the police lines in an effort to blind officers involved in attempts to secure the city.

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Protesters attempted to blind police officers shining incredibly powerful lasers directly at them - the protesters have even used the lasers on police helicopters flying above the city trying to monitor the movements of anarchist activists

Lines of police protected key intersections in the city but the sheer number of anarchists was impossible to contain

Police helicopter have even been targeted with protesters aiming flares at them as well as high-powered lasers

Thugs raided shops after their windows were smashed carrying out goods by the armful during the riots

Businesses lost their entire stock as rampaging thugs smashed their way through the store stealing goods

Members of the anarchist Black Bloc have split throughout the city, setting alight cars and looting shops while groups fight riot police.

More than 20,000 police have been deployed in the northern German port city to protect world leaders attending the G20 conference.

One video shows protesters smashing the windows of parked cars before tossing in marine flares to firebomb the vehicles.

German authorities were forced to deploy police special forces armed with machine guns to the Schanze district of the city

Hamburg police have called in reinforcements from across the country to cope with the 10,000 violent anarchists in the city

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has hit out at protesters after chaos in the city of Hamburg as thousands of demonstrators clashed with police on the day the G20 summit opened.

US First Lady Melania Trump was earlier trapped inside her hotel after rioters firebombed a police station and set cars and buildings alight in the German city.

Police have called for reinforcements after tens of thousands of protesters descended on Hamburg, causing chaos.

The fires burned across the city as the world leaders attending the G20 conference spent the evening listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony and dining in style.

Police said at least 196 officers were injured in the clashes, with 83 protesters temporarily detained at the scene and 19 taken into custody.

Members of the anarchist Black Bloc set alight barricades across downtown Hamburg to disrupt the summit

Gangs of thugs broke into shops and began looting as police battled with demonstrators elsewhere in the city

Large mobs looted city centre shops as police protected the 20 world leaders attending the G20 summit

Masked demonstrators broke away from the main crowd and smashed the window of nearby cars before throwing in marine flares to firebomb the vehicles which had been parked on the side of the road in Hamburg

Protesters torched cars and lorries, looted retail stores, lit off firecrackers and blasted music from Jimi Hendrix in a vain bid to drown out the classical music playing at the Elbphilarmonie concert hall across the Elbe River.

Reinforcements poured in from across Germany but police were unable to prevent thousands of protesters from fanning out across the northern port city.

The protests marred a gathering that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had hoped would demonstrate her country's unshakeable commitment to freedom of speech and assembly.

She said: 'I have every understanding for peaceful demonstrations but violent demonstrations put human lives in danger.'

Participants in the G20 meeting praised the work of police in keeping the event safe but said they had never seen protesters closer to such a summit than in Hamburg.

In the touristy Pferdemarkt area, known for its trendy cafes and nightlife, activists faced off against police in riot gear who were unable to put out fires, with billowing thick smoke dramatically reducing visibility.

In the nearby Schanzenviertel, looters plundered a supermarket. Nearby, a cash machine was burned out. Several police helicopters patrolled overhead.

Mobs stole produce and threw goods on the floor causing as much devastation as possible during their violent rampage

In some parts of the city police where nowhere to be seen as windows were smashed and properties damaged

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the violent scenes which saw cars and vans set alight across Hamburg

On Thursday evening a Porsche dealership was set alight by anarchist thugs on the first night of violence

Far left anarchists have spent several months planning their attacks on buildings and institutions across Hamburg

The radical Black Bloc movement, which wants to overthrow capitalism, had some success in disrupting the leaders' discussions despite the ring of security around them.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble cancelled an appearance in downtown Hamburg on Friday morning due to security concerns. Police also declined to clear U.S. first lady Melania Trump's motorcade to leave her hotel for a tour of the city's historic harbour, her spokeswoman said.

Marine police units intercepted 22 divers from the environmental pressure group Greenpeace who had also been trying to reach the concert hall, police said.

Police said they used water cannons to disperse protesters who broke into a riverside metro station that had earlier been sealed off. Nearby, two lorries were set ablaze.

Almost 200 police officers have been injured during the violent clashes involving demonstrators seeking to wreck the summit

Protesters unable to get near the summit venue have spread out across the city looting and setting fire to cars

Three officers required treatment in hospital, police said, noting that protesters had used slingshots as well as thrown bottles and stones.

Police Chief Ralf Martin Meyer told reporters that tight security around the conference area had caused the protesters to fan out around Hamburg, forcing police to request up to 1,000 reinforcements from across Germany.

In the violence, which first erupted during marches on Thursday, far-left protesters slashed the tyres of a car belonging to Canada's G20 delegation and smashed windows of Mongolia's consulate.

A police spokesman said only small numbers of far-left or anarchist protesters were involved in the disturbances, while the majority of an estimated 100,000 demonstrators in the city remained peaceful.

One of the many hovering police helicopters was nearly struck by a rocket flare, police said. On Thursday the pilots of another helicopter sustained eye injuries after a laser was directed against them.

Demonstrators set fire to barricades during the violent protests in Hamburg against the G20 meeting

Angela Merkel condemned the demonstrators who threw bottles and various missiles at security forces

Demonstrators held up placards for the various world leaders advising them that they are welcomed to hell

Protesters attempted to blockade roads to prevent the G20 summit and its associated events from proceeding as planned

She thanked security forces for their work as the G20 met behind a heavy police presence in a no-go zone that was off-limits to most.

Thousands of officers in full riot gear patrolled as many as 30 different protest marches. Most of the demonstrations were peaceful and creative, but some rioters threw petrol bombs, iron rods and cobble stones.

Far left activists attacked police officers at the G20 Summit in Hamburg with this riot officer being removed by ambulance

There were violent scenes on the streets of the northern German city as world leaders met up inside a luxury hotel

A woman is detained by German police officers during the G20 summit in Hamburg, where world leaders will discuss issues such as terrorism and climate change

Exhausted police officers take a break from the intense fighting in Hamburg involving groups of far-left anarchists

A masked protester launches a firework in the direction of riot police during ugly scenes in Hamburg, which is today hosting the G20 summit

More than 20,000 officers were on hand to guard the city's streets, skies and waterways.

Police trucks blasted protesters back with water cannons, and officers physically dragged away a group holding a sit-in at the entrance to the summit grounds after they jeered and yelled at a convoy heading inside.

Anti-globalisation protesters also kept US first lady Melania Trump from joining the spouses of the other world leaders at the summit.

Violence seemed to be escalating on Friday evening as anti-globalisation activists forced their way into a closed train station by bending open the iron gates. Police responded by deploying a water cannon outside the Landungsbruecke station.

Protesters repeatedly tried pushing into the no-go zone - among them a group of 22 swimmers from Greenpeace who tried accessing the area from the Elbe River but did not succeed, police said.

More than 20,000 officers are currently deployed in Hamburg to quell the violent disorder started by activists

Security chiefs drafted in a further 900 police officers to augment the 20,000 currently deployed in Hamburg for G20

More than 160 officers have been injured in the violent clashes which are now going into their second night

Officers have been forced to deal with at least 30 different protests in various parts of the city to divide their forces

Later on Friday, activists also attempted to get near Hamburg's highly protected philharmonic hall, where international leaders were set to listen to a concert and have dinner together. Greenpeace boats blasted music toward the performance hall to disrupt the leaders' meeting there.

Police condemned the 'shocking criminal energy and high potential of violence' on display and tweeted a photograph of an officer with a bloody wound they said was caused by slingshot catapults.

Some officers had to be taken to the hospital, including one whose eye was injured when a firework went off in front of him.

The city's fire department said 11 activists were severely injured and taken to hospital after falling off a 13ft wall after fleeing from a confrontation with riot police.

Police could not say how many activists were injured in the clashes, but the fire department said that as of Friday morning they had taken 60 protesters to hospitals across the city.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the violent scenes claiming people only have the right to protest peacefully

More than 70 protesters have been arrested while hundreds have been sprayed with water cannon by German police

Riot squad members have been chasing groups of protesters across Hamburg for more than 24 hours

President Donald Trump was forced to take a detour because of the widespread disorder.

Merkel said she could understand peaceful protests, but demonstrations that 'put peoples' lives in danger, put the protesters' own lives in danger... are unacceptable'.

Shocking footage shows smoke billowing from vehicles as the city hosting the G20 summit looked like a warzone.

German police confirmed this morning that the police station had been targeted by 'perpetrators of violence', as thousands of officers flood the streets anticipating violent demonstrations.

It comes after more than 70 people were injured in clashes between riot police and anti-capitalists last night, with a march named 'Welcome to Hell' descending into chaos.

This morning Hamburg police used a water cannon to clear a blockade by protesters ahead of the opening of the summit.

This protester with bright pink finger nails took a selfie in front of a blazing bonfire which had been set on the street

Shocking footage shows smoke billowing from buildings and vehicles which had been set alight across Hamburg today

Riot police run against protesters with batons in Hamburg today as disorder spread across the city, forcing leaders of the world's most powerful economies to divert their routes to the G20 summit

Police used water cannons on protesters during ugly scenes in the German city of Hamburg today, where world leaders met for the G20 summit

Fires have been started across the city today as thousands of protesters make their feelings known as world leaders meet for the G20 summit

Riot police confront an activist during today's protests in Hamburg, where police requested additional resources to respond to disorder

Riot police used pepper spray during violent clashes with demonstrators in the German city. Dozens of officers have been injured in the disorder over the last 24 hours

Police said an estimated 100,000 protesters, including a pair with the words 'tits against G20', were in the German city today

Police in Hamburg have called for reinforcements to cope with the huge scale of the protests as world leaders hold crunch talks

Some protesters wore masks as they demonstrated against capitalism as world leaders gathered for the G20 summit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has hit out at demonstrators for putting lives in danger during today's clashes with police in Hamburg

People use fire extinguishers to tackle flames in Hamburg today, where the G20 summit was marred by chaos outside

Dozens of fires were started across the city during widespread disorder which delayed the arrival of world leaders and forced their spouses to remain indoors amid security fears

A woman was today seen climbing onto the top of an armoured vehicle, where police fired pepper spray at her

The woman is pelted with pepper spray by officers after climbing onto the top of the vehicle in front of teams of police officers

She looked distressed after being sprayed with pepper spray after climbing onto the top of an armoured vehicle in Hamburg this morning

US First Lady Melania Trump, pictured yesterday in Poland, is reportedly trapped inside her hotel room because of the widespread protests in Hamburg

A spokeswoman for the US First Lady told DPA: 'We have not received the all-clear from police to leave the residence.'

Other spouses including Theresa May's husband Philip and French president Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigette have also been told to stay indoors.

A visit to a climate change centre by G20 spouses has been cancelled, DPA reports.

Hamburg police, who are already being backed up by officers from other German states as well as from Austria, made the request for reinforcements 'in order to get relief', a spokesman said.

Police said the blockade happened on the banks of the Outer Alster lake, some distance from the trade fair grounds where the summit is being held. They said they had repeatedly told a group of protesters to clear the road.

Cars were set alight during angry scenes ahead of the G20 talks in the German city of Hamburg, where world leaders will discuss major issues including climate change and terrorism

Huge plumes of smoke billow from a vehicle which was set alight during the protests this morning in Hamburg

Water cannons were used by police this morning after demonstrators held a blockade on streets surrounding the summit

Thousands of police officers are on duty on the city's streets, but authorities have called for reinforcements after widespread disorder today

Thousands of German police officers were dispatched to Hamburg, and force chiefs have called for reinforcements to cope with rioting

Police used water cannons in a bid to restore order amid widespread protests which forced US President Donald Trump to make a detour to reach the G20 summit this morning

Officers repeatedly used water cannons, as well as pepper spray and batons, on Thursday evening amid clashes with violent protesters.

Up to 100,000 anti-capitalist protesters are expected to descend on the city today, as heads of state including US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet for the G20 talks.

Police said that at least 111 officers were hurt during yesterday's clashes, one of whom had to be taken to a hospital with an eye injury after a firework exploded in front of him. Twenty-nine people were arrested and a further 15 temporarily detained.

Organiser Andreas Blechschmidt criticised what he said was a heavy-handed and 'massive' police response with batons.

'The police should have reacted proportionally... It wasn't necessary. There are a lot of people injured,' Blechschmidt said on N-TV. Around 30 people were arrested.

'War, climate change, exploitation are the result of the capitalist system that the G20 stands for and which 20,000 police are here to defend,' demonstrator Georg Ismail told AFP.

A protester is detained by police this morning as thousands of officers flooded the streets of Hamburg amid fears of widespread violence

Riot police clashed with protesters in Hamburg, where 100,000 demonstrators are expected to hold rallies today

Police are expecting up to 100,000 protesters to descend on the German city today ahead of the meeting by world leaders

Burned out cars today bear testimony to the violence ahead of the talks. Police believe as many as 8,000 protesters are ready to commit violence. More than 70 people were injured in last night's clashes.

Officers say they repeatedly asked a group of demonstrators to remove their masks and hoods last night, but instead officers were hit with bottles and bricks - breaking the window of a riot van.

They then decided to separate the group from the rest of the march, which they estimated at 12,000 people in total.

The violence broke out near the start of the demonstration at a riverside plaza used for Hamburg's weekly fish market.

As leaders arrived yesterday, riot police fired water cannon at a group of about a thousand black-clad protesters who hurled bottles in a demonstration organisers had dubbed 'Welcome to Hell'.

Some 20,000 police from all of Germany's 16 states have been deployed on the streets of Hamburg.

A woman shouts at a police officer wearing riot gear as authorities and demonstrators faced off against each other today as world leaders began crunch talks in Hamburg

A masked protester is photographed after his arrest during a mass demonstration by the alliance group 'Welcome To Hell'

A firefighter puts out a blaze inside a car during violence and arson in the German city which is hosting the crunch talks

They will be facing off against up to 100,000 protesters, including an estimated 8,000 who police say are prepared to use violence.

Local resident Benjamin Laub, 53, said his neighbourhood has resembled a zone 'under a state of emergency' for days.

'For a week we've heard the choppers above all the time. The buses don't run, people leave their cars at home, they walk or ride bicycles. I'm carrying my passport for the first time in Germany (because of police checks),' said the hockey trainer.

A livid Markus Munch, 48, speaking on his bike near Trump's residence in a plush area beside the Alster lake twinkling in the summer sunshine, had little sympathy for the 'idiots' demonstrating.

'It's a total catastrophe that a minority can just riot like this,' Munch told AFP. 'These idiots have nothing better to do than to demonstrate. They have to be moved out.'

A man is pictured being carried away by officers as police tackled protesters

Groups of demonstrators sat in the road ahead of today's crunch talks, which will see the leaders of the world's largest economies discuss a range of issues

German authorities say they are expecting up to 100,000 protesters outside the G20 summit today, with a huge security operation in place

A protester sits in the road in front of police vehicles ahead of today's G20 talks between world leaders including Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

Large teams of police officers have been deployed in Hamburg, where a woman was pepper sprayed after climbing on a top of an armoured vehicle

Thousands of police have been drafted in from across Germany as thousands of protesters are expected to cause chaos as world leaders meet

A man is carried off the road by police as large numbers of protesters blocked rounds around the site of the summit

Donald Trump yesterday warned that the future of Western civilisation is at stake and the West must decide if it has the ‘will to survive’.

At the start of a four-day trip to Europe, the US President said the lack of a collective resolve could doom an alliance that endured through the Cold War.

In a speech in Warsaw – ahead of the G20 meeting in Hamburg – he lashed out at hostile forces, ranging from Islamic terrorism to Russia.

He addressed a large cheering crowd and allowed for long pauses as he listened to chants of ‘Donald Trump’ from the monument to the 1944 Uprising in the city.

Thousands of police have been deployed to Hamburg, where around 100,000 people are expected to take part in protests today

A protester gets in a heated exchange with a riot policeman during a mass demonstration held by the alliance Welcome to Hell

Demonstrators march as they try to breach the security zone during the G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg today

A woman in a colourful mask marches in Hamburg, watched by dozens of police officers ahead of the G20 summit in the German city

The protests were held in Hamburg, where Donald Trump has met with Russian president Vladimir Putin this morning

Praising Poland for its resilience in the face of historic threats from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, he declared: ‘Let us all fight like Poles.’

Mr Trump said: ‘As the Polish experience reminds us, the defence of the West ultimately rests not only on means but also on the will of its people to prevail.

‘The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive.’ While it was no longer necessary to confront the ‘spectre of communism’ in Europe, there were other ‘dire threats’ to the West’s security and way of life, Mr Trump said.

‘We are confronted by another oppressive ideology – one that seeks to export terrorism and extremism all around the globe. America and Europe have suffered one terror attack after another. We’re going to get it to stop.’

He said during his visit to Saudi Arabia he had urged the leaders of 50 Muslim nations to help tackle Islamic extremists. He added: We must stand united against these shared enemies.’

Mr Trump was given a very warm welcome, the crowd cheering and chanting his name. Many were said to have been bussed in to ensure his reception was big and noisy.

Appearing to refer to America’s controversial travel ban, he said the US would always welcome new citizens but added: ‘Our borders will always be closed to terrorism and extremism of any kind.

Police used water cannons on people who blocked the roads around the summit this morning, as thousands showed up to hold protests

A demonstrator who blocked a street close to the site of the summit is removed by police wearing riot gear this morning

A man pours water over the remains of a burned out rubbish bin on the streets of the German city, which is being patrolled by thousands of police officers ahead of the G20 talks

A man is carried away by police as officers in riot gear clear protesters from the road ahead of the G20 summit involving world leaders in Germany today

Riot police have been removing demonstrators who block the streets around the G20 summit in Hamburg today

Police will be facing off against up to 100,000 protesters, including an estimated 8,000 who police say are prepared to use violence