Earlier this week, the city of Warsaw issued its final warning by court order to the merchants of central KDT market. With the lease finished, the city is interested in removing the market building and replacing the space with a museum and metro station.
However, the KDT market's merchants have other ideas. Insisting that the city is breaking its promise of providing a replacement location on the same Defilad Square, KDT merchants have refused to accept their eviction.
On Tuesday July 21st, over 200 police officers with riot police arrived on Plac Defilad, and attempted to evict the merchants by force. A flurry of violence ensued, and those merchants who didn't barricade themselves inside the KDT market threw rocks and sprayed fire extinguishers. In an attempt to control the crowd, the police began to use tear gas. In the end, nearly 50 traders and police officers were injured in the conflict.
For the full story on the Battle in Warsaw, check out the Krakow Post online.
|