Massive police forces began clearing the village of Lützerath on the edge of the Rhenish lignite mining area in North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday.

The officers advanced on the village, eyewitnesses reported. A spokesman for the Aachen police said that the surrounding area of Lützerath had been surrounded and secured and that further activities would now begin. The police had already begun dismantling barricades the day before. The energy giant RWE wants to demolish the hamlet in order to be able to excavate the lignite located under the village. "RWE Power will begin dismantling the former settlement of Lützerath today," the energy giant announced. Climate activists who are occupying the village are protesting against the plans.

(Report by Wolfgang Rattay, Matthias Inverardi and Tom Käkenhoff; Edited by Hans Busemann; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)).