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BARCELONA (Reuters) - New clashes erupted between Catalan pro-independence demonstrators and riot police in the center of Barcelona late on Tuesday in tense protests over the jailing of nine separatists by the Supreme Court over a 2017 independence bid.

Protesters set garbage containers and cardboard on fire in the middle of central Barcelona streets, including next to high-end commercial streets home to many of the city’s designer stores, according to a Reuters witness.

A spokesman for the regional Mossos police said three people had been detained near the local headquarters of the Spanish government, where police charged into the crowd with batons to try to gain space after there were problems with police fences. National police could not immediately be reached for comment.