Berlin Prohibits Soldiers to Wear Uniform During G20 Summit to Avoid Attacks

The German Defense Ministry prohibited the country's servicemen in Hamburg to wear military uniform outside of barracks during the forthcoming G20 summit due to potential sudden attacks on the part of radical activists, local media reported Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Spiegel magazine, the ministry expects citing the country's Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) that the servicemen wearing uniform could be attacked by left-wing activists protesting against the summit.

The news outlet added that the ban would be in effect for the servicemen deployed at Hamburg an in the vicinity of the city from Wednesday until Sunday.

On July 7-8, the German city of Hamburg will gather the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) that include many countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, Russia and the United States among others.

German authorities have taken a number of steps to ensure security in the city during the event. For example, about 20,000 law enforcement officers, including policemen from other German federal states, will be on duty in Hamburg during the event.

At the same time a number of protests are expected to take place in the German port city during the event, as well as ahead of it. The largest of them could gather up to 100,000 protesters, including representatives of environmental groups, trade unions and human rights organizations among others.