London: More than 200 arrested in climate protests

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - More than 200 people have been arrested in London on the first day of a two-week-long planned rallies and blockades by an activist group, Extinction Rebellion.

The arrests came over “suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance,” London Metropolitan Police said in a statement, giving the exact number of those held as 217 as of Monday evening.

The Extinction Rebellion aims to force the government to declare an “urgent action” on climate change.

Hundreds of protesters blocked roads around Millbank, Embankment, Parliament Street, Lambeth Bridge, The Mall and the Trafalgar Square.

London protesters are part of the International Rebellion -- a worldwide action to urge governments to act against the “climate change emergency”.

“The UK Government passed a motion to make a declaration of a climate & environment emergency May 1 but have failed to #ActNow. This is why @XRebellionUK is occupying & shutting down centres of power from today as our #InternationalRebellion continues”, the group wrote on Twitter.

More than a thousand protesters were arrested by police during protests the group staged in London in July, with hundreds of them are expected to appear in courts starting from this week.

Demonstrations are taking place simultaneously in 60 cities across the world, the activist group said.