Protesters clash with police at Neo-Nazi demonstration in Berlin

Police and several thousand anti-Fascist protesters clashed violently in Berlin yesterday on the sidelines of a neo-Nazi demonstration, the biggest gathering of its kind in the city since the Second World War.

About 3500 neo-Nazi sympathisers, whom police prevented at the last minute from marching through Berlin's traditional Jewish neighbourhood, had gathered to protest against an exhibit questioning the role of the Nazi-era German Army, the Wehrmacht.

Protesters threw rocks and firecrackers near a synagogue, breaking several car windows, and police retaliated with water cannons and tear gas.

They also put up barriers to keep counter-demonstrators away from the neo-Nazis.

The march was organised by the National Democratic Party, which the Government is seeking to ban.