Chaos in The Hague: Police use water cannons to disperse protesters

New clashes broke out late last night in several Dutch cities during protests against stricter government measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Five police officers were injured, and seven people were arrested.

Clashes between riot police and demonstrators occurred in The Hague, where police used water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Minor clashes also took place in the town of Urk and in towns in the province of Limburg, where angry fans interrupted two football matches that were being played without spectators due to COVID-19 rules.

However, the violence was significantly less than the previous evening, when in an "orgy of violence," as the Rotterdam mayor called it, three people were wounded by firearms and 51 people were arrested.

The Netherlands last week became the first Western European country to introduce a partial lockdown this autumn due to a rise in coronavirus infections.

The measures will be in effect for at least three weeks, and new ones are planned, such as restricting entry for unvaccinated people to certain locations.