Hundreds of climate activists called an end to their protest recently inside one of Germany's biggest open-pit mines after police repeatedly ordered them to leave, citing life-threatening danger, and authorities pulled some protesters out.
The Garzweiler lignite coal mine has been the focal point of environmental protests in Germany's Rhineland region, where 40,000 students rallied for more government action against climate change in the nearby city of Aachen.
The long-planned protests began just hours after European Union leaders failed at a summit to agree on how to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050.
some demonstrators blocked the railroad tracks used to transport coal before others broke through a police cordon to enter the mine. Protesters and police accused each other of combative behavior in the mine and of causing injuries. Police said eight officers were injured in scuffles with protesters.
