
Clashes between riot police and anti-capitalism protesters have continued in the German city of Hamburg as leaders from the world's biggest economies meet for the G20 summit.

Small groups of hooded anti-capitalist Black Bloc militants scuffled with police after two days of violent clashes which marred the G20 summit.

Arab refugees watching the riots from the relative safety of a falafel joint said the rioters were insane for destroying their tolerant adoptive city and were astonished by what they saw as the police's restraint.

'If people did this in Egypt they would be shot,' said Ibrahim Ali, a 29-year-old Egyptian who came here in 2011. 'The state provides everything: housing, unemployment benefits and education. Yet those people are not happy. I don't get it.'

'They are crazy. I can't believe my eyes,' said Mohammad Halabi, 32, a Syrian who arrived in Germany as a refugee some 18 months ago. 'They have such a beautiful country and they're destroying it.'

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A man holds a beer as he tries to take a ride on a police wrecker in the Schanze district of Hamburg following the G20 summit

Riot police officer pulls a bicycle that protesters used as a barricade during demonstrations as water cannon is used

Police protect a branch of a local bank in the Schanze district of Hamburg following the G20 summit as rioters have sprayed 'long live anarchy' on a shutter

Special police forces with machine pistols patrol during clashes in the Schanzenviertel quarter

The summit in Hamburg sparked fury and some have questioned why it was held in a city known for its left-wing views

Pictured: A police riot van sprays a protester with a water cannon as protesters extend into another night in Hamburg

Pictured: A riot police officer points his teargas gun at protesters as riots persist in the German city

Pictured: A protester throws a bottle towards riot police during demonstrations at the G20 summit in Hamburg

Pictured: Protesters react in front of a German riot police van during demonstrations against the G20 summit in Hamburg

Riot police uses water cannons against protesters during demonstrations at the G20 summit in Hamburg

German riot police detain the protester during the demonstration at the G20 summit in Hamburg

Police lines up in front of the Rote Flora in the Schanze district of Hamburg, with helmets on and shields in place

A man receives help after sprayed with tear gas by riot police as they try to control the masses across the city

German police detain protester during a demonstration at the G20 summit in Hamburg where rioters have looted shops

Protesters show V-signs in front of riot police officers during demonstrations

Protesters sit on a street in front of riot police officers with V-signs and banners as they protest the G20 summit

A protester (pictured) throws a bottle towards police as a van sprays water cannon. Black Bloc militants have been scuffling with police during the G20 summit

An injured protestor who has been hit by tear gas has water put in his eye to help soothe the pain

Pictured: Protesters shout slogans in front of riot police officers during demonstrations at the G20 summit in Hamburg

Refugees from Syria and Egypt looked on at the carnage from a falafel joint and said they 'couldn't believe their eyes' as rioters destroyed property. Pictured: German riot police move towards protesters in Hamburg

Pictured: A riot police van fires water cannon at the front of the Rote Flora as G20 demonstrations continue

Pictured: German riot police run towards protesters during demonstrations at the G20 summit in Hamburg

Pictured: Flares burn as riot police deal with yet another night of violence in Hamburg

After a night of rioting in which radicals looted shops, torched cars and hurled objects, the city centre was in lock down with luxury shops along the main streets barricaded up and many protected by security guards.

More than 50,000 people gathered for a 'G20 - not welcome' demonstration in the port city. At one point a group of about 120 people, some masked, kicked police and attacked them with flagpoles before running away.

Police were once again driven to turn water cannon on protesters.

Hamburg was left resembling a warzone after a second night of violent protests, with cars and buildings set alight, businesses looted and police attacked with petrol bombs.

Pictured: A riot police officer lies on the ground as the protests went on in Hamburg earlier today

Pictured: Riot police spray protesters in Hamburg after the G20 summit in the German city

Riot police charge forward towards protesters on July 8 in Hamburg, as world leaders meet during the G20 summit

German riot police officers take off their helmets as they walk in front of protesters during demonstrations

Police takes security measures as protesters gather at St. Pauli neighborhood during the "G20 Not Welcome" protests against G20 Leaders' Summit

Protesters march during the "G20 Not Welcome" protests with banners reading 'Capitalism kills' and skeleton make-up

Protestors have been mocked on Twitter for recording their anti-capitalist march with Snapchat and on iPhones

Pictured: A ransacked shop in Hamburg after protests against the G20 summit Hamburg

Pictured: A woman smiles and raises her hands in front of riot policeman as protests against the G20 summit in Hamburg continue

Protesters march during the 'G20 Not Welcome' protests against G20 Leaders' Summit on its second day in Hamburg

Masked protesters plunder and destroy a Rewe supermarket in the Schanzenviertel district in Hamburg last night

The morning after: The damage caused by a night of rioting was evident on the streets of Hamburg this morning, where world leaders are meeting for the G20 summit

Businesses were looted, cars were torched and fires were lit in the street as activists caused chaos in the German city

A bank machine damaged in the Schanze district after hundreds of violent demonstrators went on the rampage last night

Pictured: A man sends bubbles into the air while wearing a clown mask in Hamburg

Businesses have been left counting the cost of last night's destruction, with staff at a convenience store in Hamburg surveying the damage caused

Police say riots were extremely violent in the early hours of Saturday in the city's Schanzenviertel neighborhood

Shops were vandalised and looted by groups of hundreds of protesters in a night of violence last night

Riot police fired tear gas and water canons to disperse thousands of activists determined to soil the symbolic event

Nearly 200 police have been injured in two nights of clashes, officials have revealed, and authorities say around 10,000 thugs were involved in last night's chaos.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly using a laser pointer to try and blind the pilots of a police helicopter.

Yesterday police bosses in Hamburg were forced to admit they had been overwhelmed, and requested reinforcements. Thousands of officers from across Germany have flooded the city's streets, and were pelted with Molotov cocktails and targeted with lasers last night.

END COAL PLEA BY ENVIRONMENTALISTS Greenpeace activists have scaled a bridge in Hamburg and unfurled a banner saying, 'G-20: End Coal.' The group said in a statement that 65 activists participated in the protest early Saturday demanding from international G20 leaders to act quickly to phase out coal and speed up global climate action. Fighting global warming is one of the major issues on the G20 agenda, but negotiations are proving to be difficult since the US left the international Paris climate agreement a few weeks ago. Greenpeace's Susanne Neubronner said 'the millions of people threatened by climate change or already suffering its impact expect the G-20 leaders to accelerate their efforts to reduce their emissions'. Advertisement

A huge number of officers were on duty as tens of thousands of activists marched through the city.

Arab refugees watching the riots from the relative safety of a falafel joint said the rioters were insane for destroying their tolerant adoptive city and were astonished by what they saw as the police's restraint.

'If people did this in Egypt they would be shot,' said Ibrahim Ali, a 29-year-old Egyptian who came here in 2011. 'The state provides everything: housing, unemployment benefits and education. Yet those people are not happy. I don't get it.'

Ali and two more refugees from Syria and Egypt were serving beer, falafel, hummus, tabouleh salad and other Middle Eastern delights to protesters who had started leaving the Sternschanze quarter as police special units moved in against the rioters.

'They are crazy. I can't believe my eyes,' said Mohammad Halabi, 32, a Syrian who arrived in Germany as a refugee some 18 months ago. 'They have such a beautiful country and they're destroying it.'

Germany's interior minister described the rioting as 'the opposite of democratic protest'.

Thomas de Maiziere said: 'These were unbounded violent excesses out of a desire for destruction and brutality.'

He added that 'completely uninhibited attacks against people and objects, looting and arson by anarchists from Germany and Europe, have nothing to do with political motives or protest'.

Police say riots were extremely violent in the early hours of this morning in the city's Schanzenviertel neighborhood.

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.

Thousands of police officers are on duty in the German city of Hamburg, where a large demonstration was held to mark the G20 summit

The huge police presence at demonstrations in Hamburg today followed two nights of violence during which nearly 200 officers were injured

The heads of state will come together later today to discuss issues including terrorism, climate change and trade.

Riot police fired tear gas and water canons to disperse thousands of activists determined to soil the symbolic event.

Other protesters dived in the water surrounding the venue and were apprehended by police speedboats.

Protestors in the famously liberal city are furious at the estimated £115million cost of the summit to German taxpayers.

Hundreds of officers went into buildings to arrest rioters while being attacked with iron rods and Molotov cocktails thrown from the roofs.

Thirteen activists were arrested when special units stormed one building.

Some 500 people looted a supermarket in the neighbourhood as well as smaller stores. Cars were torched, street fires lit as activists built barricades with rubbish bins and bikes.

Some looters could be seen with baskets, filled to the brim with bottles of alcohol.

Police had made 70 arrests during the protests, which saw fires in the streets so large that they could spotted across the city's skyline.

Demonstrators called for 'unlimited solidarity' instead of the G20 at today's demonstration in the city where the summit was held

Protesters take part in the 'solidarity without borders instead of G20' demonstration today in the German city of Hamburg

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

Businesses were targeted by looters, who smashed windows and helped themselves to stock, while fires burned in the streets outside

Police used water cannons to try and disperse anarchists running amok in the city, where world leaders are meeting for the G20 summit

Demonstrators climbed scaffolding during a protest last night as world leaders gathered in Hamburg for the G20 summit

Over the two days, 197 police officers had been injured in the running battles with protesters.

Yesterday chaos across the city meant world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, had to take alternative routes to the summit.

And the spouses of heads of state, including Melania Trump and Philip May, husband of British Prime Minister Theresa May, were forced to cancel visits because of security fears.

Last night anarchist protesters attempted to blind German police officers and helicopter pilots amid violent clashes.

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

A statement released today said the arrested suspect blinded the two crew members of the Libelle 2 helicopter so badly while they were up in the air that they had to stop working because they couldn't see.

Following intensive investigations, police arrested the suspect in his Hamburg apartment Saturday and also found the laser pointer.

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

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

Officials estimate around 10,000 rioters were involved in last night's chaos, and revealed that nearly 200 police officers have been injured in the past two days

Police had made 70 arrests during the protests, which saw fires in the streets so large that they could spotted across the city's skyline

Members of the anarchist Black Bloc group - which wants to overthrow capitalism - 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.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The radical Black Bloc movement 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 US 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.