Catalan leaders call for Madrid talks after violent clashes

Separatist Catalan leaders called on the Spanish government to enter into talks as Barcelona braced for fresh violence after days of clashes between police and protesters.

Nearly 200 people were hurt in another night of clashes with radical separatists hurling rocks and fireworks at police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Spanish government responded by saying it had “always been open to dialogue in the framework of respect for the law”.

In a statement, it also called on regional president Quim Torra to condemn the violence, “which he has not done so far”.

Barcelona has been rocked all week by protests against a Spanish court’s jailing of nine separatist leaders on sedition charges over a failed independence bid.

Violence has erupted on the streets of Barcelona for the sixth consecutive night, after the city’s mayor pleaded for calm over the protests.

Protesters in the city have clashed with police every night since Monday – angry with the decision to jail pro-independence leaders for their role in Catalonia’s failed attempt to secede from Spain two years ago.

Emergency services said Saturday that 152 people were injured in overnight clashes in Barcelona, and dozens more hurt elsewhere in Catalonia, taking the total to 182.

More protests are expected Sunday.

Via France 24