Catalan separatists clashed with the police on Saturday in downtown Barcelona as tensions rose ahead of the anniversary of the Spanish region’s illegal referendum on secession that ended in violent raids by security forces. Separatists tossed and sprayed colored powder at officers, filling the air with a thick rainbow cloud and covering anti-riot shields, police vans and the pavement on a downtown boulevard in a panoply of bright colors. Some protesters also threw objects and engaged with the police line, which used baton strikes to keep them back. Officers used batons to push back the separatists and to keep the groups apart. There were more confrontations with the local police as the separatists tried to enter Barcelona’s main city square where the hundreds of people supporting Spanish police had ended their march.

Source: New York Times September 29, 2018 19:01 UTC