WARSAW, Poland – Police said Monday that 22 officers were injured and 176 people were arrested in clashes with right-wing protesters marching on Poland's Independence Day.
The disturbances broke out Sunday evening when right-wing protesters, some of whom were masked, threw stones and metal objects at police in Warsaw. Police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.
It is the second year in a row that Independence Day celebrations in the capital have been marred by violence on the sidelines.
The Independence Day celebrates Poland regaining its sovereignty at the end of World War I after more than 120 years of imposed foreign rule.
President Bronislaw Komorowski condemned the violence and criticized the Parliament for rejecting his proposal to ban covering faces by participants in public gatherings.