Fireworks fired at head height and smoke bombs on one side, charges and water jets on the other. The result of Saturday morning's disorders during the demonstration of social centers, who took to the streets with the intention of blocking the pavilion with Israeli exhibitors at Vicenzaoro fair, is ten injured police officers, about ten protesters treated, and five activists reported. However, the protest - organized in order to protest against Israel and advocate for the cause of Gaza - was halted by riot police about a kilometer away from the fairground. After the emergency, investigations by the Digos will commence to identify the maximum number of violent individuals and attribute their responsibilities.
The procession organized by Bocciodromo gathered in the parking lot of via Rossi ai Ferrovieri and started just after 11:15. "Right now, there is an Israeli pavilion at the fair. We want to send a signal. Enough bombs on Gaza, especially those financed by trade with the West," one of the sentences uttered by the demonstrators through the microphone amid chants against Israel. The demonstration attracted about 700 people, including activists from social centers from many parts of Italy. Considering the bellicose tones used by the promoters, in the days leading up to the event the police had forbidden them to reach the fair and prescribed a mandatory route. Around noon, while passing through Viale Sant'Agostino, the parade deviated to the right to take Via dell'Arsenale. Antagonists began lighting smoke bombs, wearing helmets, covering their faces with scarves, and wielding flagpoles as weapons, while protest banners were replaced with metal sheets placed side by side to create a large shield. They then cut the padlocked chain at the entrance gate and entered the Arsenal area, where the police security cordon was already deployed. The protesters were ordered to turn back, but they continued to advance. Consequently, operational units were ordered to charge and disperse the social center activists. The latter responded with a dense barrage of smoke bombs, one of which burned a police officer's neck. After that, the police's water cannon vehicle came into action. The protesters began firing rockets at head height against law enforcement, and another officer collapsed, hit directly by the explosion of one of the powerful fireworks. Another charge followed, definitively repelling the violent crowd outside the gate they had forced. At that point, urban warfare ended. Five activists were blocked, identified, and taken to the police station to be reported. They include one activist from Vicenza, one from Treviso, one from Brescia, one from Teramo, one from Croatia. Their positions are still under examination by investigators, who will now review the available footage to identify most of the participants. The clash report speaks of ten injured police officers, the most serious of whom suffered a cervical vertebra fracture, and about ten protesters taken to the emergency room.
(GdV, domenica 21 gennaio)