Thousands gather in Berlin to stop far-right protest

Several thousand people came together in Berlin on Saturday to successfully prevent a couple dozen far-right protesters from marching through the German capital's eastern Friedrichshain and Lichtenberg districts, according to police.

Some 2,500 to 3,000 counter-protesters gathered along several locations of the planned route, with only some 60 rightwingers attending the march, a police spokesman said.

Some police officers were injured after they were pelted with bottles and stones, he said.

The far-right protesters had gathered at Berlin's Ostkreuz train station, a major transport hub in Friedrichshain, to march along the Frankfurter Allee thoroughfare towards Lichtenberg.

Counter-demonstrators managed to stop the march on Frankfurter Allee, after police ruled it was disproportionate to clear a gathering of thousands of people in order to ensure the passage of a few dozen far-right protesters.

Some 500 people were originally expected to attend, but the number of participants ended up being much smaller, the police spokesman said.

The route of the far-right march was changed after authorities prohibited the protesters from passing a building partially occupied by far-left activists.