Clashes between police and activists protesting against eviction outside Girona

Tuesday evening saw tense clashes among police and activists protesting against an eviction in Salt, just outside the northern Catalan city of Girona.

Six arrests were made during the rally that saw a second consecutive night of tension.

The protest, which was not priorly communicated, started at around 8 pm and gathered around 100 people.

It was called against the eviction of an imam and his family from a flat in the town, which on Monday evening already resulted in incidents in front of the police station where eggs and stones were thrown.

The Salt city council regretted the clashes and asked to lower tensions. The city's mayor, Jordi Viñas, ruled out that the incidents were related to the eviction.

"We found people on the streets prepared to attack," he said and added, "I would differentiate it from the eviction."

The daughter of the imam also said that "neither my father nor anyone family member are related to the protests," she said.

Tuesday evening saw tension break out in the center of the municipality.

The confrontation between the protesters and police officers saw objects thrown, and bonfires lit. Unconfirmed reports on social media also suggested that the police fired rubber bullets.

The mayor said to journalists on Wednesday morning that the clashes left a police car patrol window broke, three parking meters "destroyed," many security cameras broken, and a dozen of burned containers. Some parked cars nearby also had some damage.

 Following the clashes, the Mossos d'Esquadra police force deployed more public order officers activated riot units.

After two hours, the tension had subsided.

Diama Bhouria

Events started on Monday when imam Diama Bhouria tried to enter his home after being evicted on Friday. Once inside, the alarm went off and Mossos d'Esquadra went to the scene to avoid him to enter the site.

The deployment caused several clashes between police and neighbors. Due to the events. the imam and a second resident requested medical attention.

The 70-year-old imam and the other person suffered "light" injuries.

Tenants' Union

The Tenants' Union said that the clashes seen in Salt are due to the current housing policies in place that are "forcing many families with minors to end up on the streets," Enric Aragonès, tenants' union spokesperson, said to the media outlets during a press conference in Sitges, south of Barcelona.

"What is more difficult to understand is why there are no continuous clashes," he added saying that "people are fed up."

He told journalists that people "cannot continue as they do not have a place to live."

Aragonès also criticized politicians for prioritizing short-term rents and benefiting "the business of a few while a lot of people cannot access the housing market with stability, dignity, and free of worries."