Aachen/Erkelenz (dpa/lnw) - The Aachen police are "worried" about the coming days and weeks, in which the clearing of the village of Lützerath, which is occupied by climate activists, could begin. "It will be a challenging mission with many risks," police chief Dirk Weinspach said on Monday morning on WDR. In the past week, the Lützerath protests have remained mostly peaceful - but on Sunday it "escalated again for the first time". Among other things, stones were flown. "That's not a good sign at first," said Weinspach. "I hope that won't happen again next week."

The energy company RWE wants to tear down Lützerath in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia in order to mine the coal underneath. The land and houses of the village, which is characterized by agriculture, now belong to RWE. However, activists who have announced resistance now live in the remaining premises, whose former residents have moved away. Therefore, there will probably soon be a major police operation to clear Lützerath.

The activists in Lützerath are a "mixed scene," said Weinspach on WDR. Mostly she is "bourgeois and peacefully oriented". A small proportion are ready to commit violent crimes. "At least that's how it was in the past," said Weinspach.