Attacks on police, more than 200 arrests in Berlin

New Year's Eve - Attacks on police, more than 200 arrests in Berlin

Peaceful celebrations in small groups, heavy fireworks in squares and streets and aggressive firecracker throwing and firing at other people - New Year's Eve in Berlin once again revealed all aspects of the big city. The police reported 219 provisional arrests at around 1.00 a.m., often involving dangerous firecrackers and illegal fireworks.

A spokeswoman said that firecrackers and rockets were fired at the police and fire department from time to time throughout the city, as well as at each other. However, there were no particular local focuses. "Various attacks with pyrotechnics, blank shots and bottles on emergency and rescue services" were reported, it said. Many very loud explosions also pointed to illegal firecrackers. Shots from alarm guns were also repeatedly heard.

Police: 99.9 percent of people celebrate peacefully

Berlin's Senator of the Interior Iris Spranger (SPD) and Police Commissioner Barbara Slowik emphasized in the early evening that the majority of Berliners were celebrating peacefully and that this applied to "99.9 percent of people" in the city. Before New Year's Eve, the police had repeatedly stated that in such a large city, unfortunately not every riot could be prevented with fireworks.

Hours before midnight, large groups of around 500 people fired New Year's Eve rockets at each other near Alexanderplatz. Police officers dispersed and controlled the group, according to the Internet portal X (formerly Twitter). A group of 200 people in the vicinity fired rockets or other pyrotechnics at the police.

Attacks on police

Suspects who had made Molotov cocktails were arrested in Neukölln. The police also reported that cars, including police and emergency vehicles, were shot at several times. "In Hermannstraße, people shot rockets at our emergency services." In the Gropiusstadt district, a parked police car was severely damaged by the explosion of a bullet bomb.

In total, almost 5,000 police officers were on duty that night to prevent riots and excesses similar to last year: 3,500 police officers from several federal states were deployed on the streets. Especially in the New Year's Eve hotspots of previous years in Neukölln, Mitte and Schöneberg, the police had visibly positioned themselves on the streets. In addition, there were 1,000 police officers in patrol cars and guards as well as 500 federal police officers in and around train stations. This was the largest police presence on a New Year's Eve in Berlin.

On New Year's Eve 2022/2023, there had been riots and attacks on police officers and emergency services throughout Germany, with Berlin being particularly affected. This year, the police were additionally concerned about the Gaza war following the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas and the heated atmosphere in parts of the population of Arab origin in some parts of the city.

A pro-Palestinian demonstration in the late evening was therefore banned. Around 2000 people took part in a demonstration in the afternoon. In the evening, the announced firecracker ban zone was set up in Sonnenallee. Despite the ban on a demonstration by Palestinian groups on the war in Gaza, people gathered before midnight and the police intervened to prevent a larger gathering.

Wegner: Night of repression if necessary

In the early evening, Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) announced that the police would take tough action against riots and excesses. A lot had been done in the area of prevention in recent months, Wegner said during a visit to a police station in Neukölln. "And tonight is the night, if necessary, the night of repression, when the rule of law will try to assert itself. And I am also sure that it will prevail."

Thousands of people celebrated at the Brandenburg Gate at the traditional New Year's Eve party, accompanied by high security measures. According to the organizers, 45,000 tickets had been sold by the early evening and the party was designed for up to 65,000 people. The stage show was broadcast live on ZDF. For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, there was also a firework display.

Eleven Molotov cocktails, nine arrests

Nine suspects were arrested in Neukölln for the homemade Molotov cocktails. "They filled petrol into glass bottles and were putting scraps of cloth into them as a fuse when they were discovered by our emergency services in Neukölln," wrote the police. They also had barbecue lighters with them. Eleven Molotov cocktails were seized. The police were initially unable to say whether they were politically motivated extremists.

In Sonnenallee - formerly one of the New Year's Eve hotspots for dangerous illegal firecrackers - it initially remained quiet due to the firecracker ban zone imposed by the police. Walkways were cordoned off with bars for several hundred meters, and the passage of cars was stopped. The police illuminated intersections with floodlight towers. At entrances, all people who wanted to enter the prohibited zone had to show their bags. Long queues formed and some people protested.

Man loses hand due to exploding rocket

During the course of the day, people were injured by fireworks and had to be treated, according to the police. A 40-year-old man lost a hand due to an illegal signal rocket in the Kaulsdorf district. The rocket exploded in his hand immediately after ignition.

As on every New Year's Eve, the fire department reported numerous fires, which were extinguished. There was a fire on the 15th floor and then also on the balconies on the 16th and 17th floors of a high-rise building in Prenzlauer Berg. In another apartment fire in the same district, an unconscious person was rescued and a cat died. New Year's Eve is the busiest night of the year for the fire department, with hundreds of rescue and extinguishing operations. More than 1500 paramedics and firefighters were on duty with 421 vehicles.