Dramatic footage shows massive brawl 'involving 180 people' inside Hannover Airport terminal during demonstration over Turkish military action in Syria
German police have confirmed the huge fight broke out today at Hannover Airport
By
Dave Burke
- 15:55, 22 JAN 2018
- UPDATED17:14, 22 JAN 2018
A mass brawl involving nearly 200 people has broken out at Hannover Airport, German police have confirmed.
Dramatic footage shows brawlers throwing punches and kicks at each other, and using flags as weapons while stunned passengers fled to safety.
Reports say the fight, which happened this afternoon, involved a staggering 180 people, and officers used pepper spray to separate both sides.
According to news site
Haz , it happened during a demonstration by Kurds over Turkish military action in Syria.
A tweet by Hannover police said: "According to initial information, there is currently a major dispute at Hannover Airport. We are already on our way with many forces!"
It is thought that the protesters were confronted by Turkish passengers, and the fight broke out at Terminal B.
Polizei Hannover
✔@Polizei_H
Nach ersten Informationen gibt es derzeit eine größere Auseinandersetzung am
#Flughafen #Hannover. Wir sind bereits mit zahlreichen Kräften auf dem Weg dorthin!
10:26 AM - Jan 22, 2018
CLICK TO PLAY
FOOTAGE OF PROTESTERS GATHERING AT HANNOVER AIRPORT
Footage from the scene shows people waving flags as police surround them inside the terminal.
The protest took place outside the check-in desk for Turkish Airlines,
NeuePresse reports.
Witnesses said there were more than 200 people, many of them carrying Kurdish flags, taking part in the demonstration at 4pm local time.
Some were chanting and branded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a 'fascist', Haz reports.
Police spokesman André Puiu told
Spiegel: "There was a spontaneous rally of Kurds who demonstrated against the use of the army."
He said the group clashed with passengers, and the mood was 'very aggressive'.
Shocking footage shows protesters clashing with passengers at Hannover Airport (Image: Facebook)
The brawl broke out during a demonstration in front of the Turkish Airlines check-in desk (Image: Facebook)
It happened at Hannover Airport in Germany today (Image: Getty)
Witnesses say around 180 people were involved in the mass brawl at the airport (Image: yalcinkky/Twitter)
How hero Royal Navy doctor saved 1,000 lives on both sides during the Falklands War
Officers later said they had regained control of the situation.
An estimated 20 emergency service vehicles were dispatched to the scene, according to reports in Germany.
It is not yet known if any arrests were made by police.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was branded a 'fascist' by protesters (Image: Anadolu)
The protests come in response to military action launched by the Turkish government to create a 30km buffer zone around its border.
Intense fighting is ongoing in areas controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Union party, which the Turkish government claim is responsible for an insurgency inside Turkey which has lasted for decades.
President Erdogan has vowed that the military action will be swift, and would tackle militias in the region.