The president of Spain's Catalonia region has called for an immediate halt to violence, as protests continued for the third night.
"We condemn violence... This has to stop right now," Quim Torra said.
On Wednesday, protesters set up burning barricades and hurled projectiles at police in Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region in the north-east.
Monday's sentencing of nine separatist leaders triggered protests in support of Catalonia's independence.
Protesters have reportedly been using an app known as Tsunami Democratic, which directs them to protest sites in Catalan cities.
The Spanish authorities say they are investigating who is co-ordinating the disruption.
What did the Catalan president say?
In a televised statement, Mr Torra said: "We will not permit incidents like those we are seeing in the streets. "This has to stop right now. There is no reason nor justification for burning cars, nor any other vandalism." On Wednesday, protesters hurled projectiles at riot police in Barcelona Mr Torra, who advocates independence for Catalonia, was speaking after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had made a direct appeal to him to condemn the violence. Pro-independence leaders - who control the Catalan regional government - said earlier they would keep pushing for a new referendum on secession from Spain.Why are people protesting?
The protests began after nine Catalan independence leaders were handed jail sentences of between nine and 13 years by Spain's Supreme Court on Monday. Riot police in Barcelona tried to disperse protesters who set up burning barricades The separatists were convicted of sedition over their role in an independence referendum in 2017, which Spain said was illegal. Another three were found guilty of disobedience and fined, but not jailed. All 12 defendants denied the charges. On Monday, thousands of protesters blocked roads to Barcelona's El Prat airport - a major transport hub. Clashes broke out on Monday as protesters blocked road access to Barcelona's El Prat airport More than 100 flights were cancelled as demonstrators fought running battles with riot police at the terminal buildings.What is behind the Catalonia unrest?
Catalan nationalists have long complained that their region, which has a distinct history dating back almost 1,000 years, sends too much money to poorer parts of Spain, through taxes which are controlled by Madrid. The wealthy region is home to about 7.5 million people, with their own language, parliament, flag and anthem. In September, a march in Barcelona in support of Catalonia's independence from Spain drew crowds of about 600,000 people - one of the lowest turnouts in the eight-year history of the annual rally.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Akufo-Addo leads nationwide commissioning of 80 educational projects
3 mins -
Ghana and Seychelles strengthen bilateral ties with focus on key sectors
34 mins -
National Elections Security Taskforce meets political party heads ahead of December elections
38 mins -
Samsung’s AI-powered innovations honored by Consumer Technology Association
58 mins -
Fugitive Zambian MP arrested in Zimbabwe – minister
1 hour -
Town council in Canada at standstill over refusal to take King’s oath
1 hour -
Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws
2 hours -
Providing quality seeds to farmers is first step towards achieving food security in Ghana
2 hours -
Thousands of PayPal customers report brief outage
2 hours -
Gary Gensler to leave role as SEC chairman
2 hours -
Contraceptive pills recalled in South Africa after mix-up
2 hours -
Patient sues Algerian author over claims he used her in novel
3 hours -
Kenya’s president cancels major deals with Adani Group
3 hours -
COP29: Africa urged to invest in youth to lead fight against climate change
3 hours -
How Kenya’s evangelical president has fallen out with churches
3 hours