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Usually, there are around 2,800 police officers in the north east region of Spain with a further 1,900 from the paramilitary Guardia Civil. But the number of officers has now climbed to over 10,000, according to the the Catalan Interior Minister Joaquin Forn. There are now around 5,300 police officers and 5,000 members of the Guardia Civil amid fears of violent clashes.

Getty Members of the Guardia Civil tussle with protestors in Barcelona

In a meeting of Catalonia’s security council earlier this week, which was headed by the regional President Carles Puigdemont, Mr Forn said the figures had been released to him by the central Ministry of the Interior in Madrid. Mr Forn has previously expressed annoyance by the lack of information coming from the central government in Madrid over the issue of security. He accused Madrid of sending the extra officers as a way of “altering the order” of the region ahead of the referendum vote and added their presence could be seen as provocative, triggering public order disturbances.

Twitter Demonstrators in Barcelona walk past a depiction of Piolin

Spain crisis: Protest outside the Catalan High Court Fri, September 22, 2017 Pro-Independence Associations called for a meeting in front of the Catalan High Court building demanding release of the 14 officials arrested yesterday during a Spanish Police operation in an attempt to stop the region's independence referendum, due to take place on October 1, which has been deemed illegal by the Spanish government in Madrid Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 8 People demonstrate in front of the Catalan High Court building

Madrid has been sending members of the security forces to Catalonia for the past month. Two cruise liners which are currently docked in Barcelona’s port and a third in Tarragona are housing several thousand members of the Guardia Civil. The liners have since been a target of ridicule for independence supporters due to one of the liners in Barcelona being decorated on the outside with the Warner Bros cartoon character Tweety Pie - known as Piolin in Catalonia - who has since become a sort of unofficial emblem of what Catalans see as their struggle for independence.

Getty A pro-independence support stands next to a member of the Guardia Civil