LÜTZERATH (dpa-AFX) - Police on Tuesday continued preparations for an evacuation of the village of Lützerath in the Rhenish lignite mining region. Areas around the village were being developed for the logistics of the large-scale operation planned for the middle of the month, a police spokesman said. So far, there have been no incidents. The night had been very quiet, he added.

On Monday, there had been minor scuffles between police officers and climate activists. The activists threw firecrackers and stones, and there were scuffles.

Lützerath, near Erkelenz in the Heinsberg district, is to be mined for coal. Buildings and land belong to the energy company RWE. "The claiming of the former settlement this winter is necessary to ensure a secure supply for the power plants in the midst of the energy crisis," RWE says. The legality of this action has been conclusively confirmed by the courts, he said.

The activists who have moved into the abandoned homesteads in Lützerath, on the other hand, are convinced that any further burning of coal endangers "survival on this planet". That is why they will not stand idly by and watch the dismantling of Lützerath./DP/ngu