German troops have been warned in an internal memo that “violent” attacks by left-wing groups are a high probability at this week’s G-20 summit in Hamburg.
World leaders — and thousands of protesters — are set to converge on Germany on Friday and Saturday. The nation’s Ministry of Defense has warned Bundeswehr personnel that roughly 10,000 activists may try to disrupt talks on industrial trade and financial market regulation with violence.
“Soldiers in uniform who are moving around the city during the announced protest may be the target of spontaneous attacks by violent left-wing extremist protests,” the memo read, Der Spiegel reported Wednesday.
Troops have been ordered not to wear uniforms as a means of mitigating confrontation.
“The greatest concern of the military is currently the use of dozens of stun drones of the demonstrators,” the newspaper reported. “According to internal analyzes, they could try to fly over the Elbphilharmonie [concert hall] or the meeting place with a swarm of commercial drones. Even if the drones are not armed, this would seriously interfere with the process.”
President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the event with members of the European Union and the following 18 nations: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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