Warsaw Strikes Again:Independence Day Celebrations End With Street Violence

Over 200 people were arrested following clashes between the police and masked men who participated in the March of Independence in Warsaw on Tuesday, November 11. This is the fourth year in a row when violence has marred National Independence Day celebrations in the capital of Poland.

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© REUTERS / Kacper Pempel

Over 200 people were arrested following clashes between the police and masked men who participated in the March of Independence in Warsaw on Tuesday, November 11.

Above: A protester holds a flare; several hundred masked men broke away from a far-right march and threw stones and flares at lines of riot police in Warsaw, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Jacek Marczewski

This is the fourth year in a row when violence has marred the National Independence Day celebrations in the capital of Poland.

Above: A wounded riot policeman is attended to after several hundred masked men broke away from a far-right march and threw stones and flares in Warsaw, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Kacper Pempel

A large group of masked men, numbering in the hundreds, attempted to instigate violence by clashing with police officers.

Above: Riot police confront protesters in front of the National Stadium after several hundred masked men who broke away from a far-right march threw stones and flares in Warsaw, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Kacper Pempel

Police had to use water cannons to deal with the extremists.

Above: Riot policemen stand beside a water cannon as several hundred masked men who broke away from a far-right march threw stones and flares in Warsaw, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Kacper Pempel

The clashes took place in the vicinity of the National Stadium, the site of the opening ceremony of the 2012 UEFA European Championship.

Above: Several hundred masked men threw stones and flares at lines of riot police after they broke away from a far-right march in Warsaw, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Lukasz Glowala

Poland's Independence Day is celebrated on November 11.

Above: People parade in medieval costumes during Independence Day celebrations in Gdansk, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Lukasz Glowala

The holiday commemorates the restoration of the Polish state - the Second Polish Republic - in 1918.

Above: A man poses in a pope outfit during the Independence Day celebrations in Gdansk, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Slawomir Kaminski

Following the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the Polish state was wiped off the map and did not exist again for 123 years.

Above: Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski and his wife Anna (C) walk together with officials during Independence Day celebrations in Warsaw, November 11, 2014

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© REUTERS / Lukasz Glowala

The first March of Independence was held in Warsaw in 2008.

Above: People parade wearing military uniforms during the Independence Day celebrations in Gdansk, November 11, 2014