G20 summit: 'Welcome to Hell' march to greet world leaders

Hamburg is on high alert as world leaders - and protesters from across the political spectrum - gather for this weekend's G20 Summit.

Up to 100,000 protesters are expected to "turn the old merchant city into a site of a global contest over capitalism, the environment and ethnic nationalism", the Washington Post reports.

Around 8,000 are thought to be from violent left-wing groups based in Scandinavia, Switzerland, Italy and beyond, city police chief Ralf Martin Meyer told the Associated Press, saying he was expecting "not just sit-in protests, but massive assaults".

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"German police have seized knives, baseball bats and containers presumed to be filled with flammable liquid and unknown chemicals from various locations in and around Hamburg," The Guardian reports.

One flashpoint is likely to be the Welcome to Hell march, which is scheduled to coincide with this afternoon's arrival of world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Dozen of protests are planned, including a zombie-themed event against governments and banks and a demonstration calling for the removal of all national borders.

At the other end of the political spectrum, a far-right protest will signal its support for Donald Trump.

"The prime ministers and presidents have yet to arrive, but protests have already turned to violence," says the BBC. Police on Tuesday used water cannon to control demonstrations and scuffled with protesters as they tried to clear away temporary camps, while last night, a Porsche dealership was set on fire.

In an attempt to prevent further violence, police have blocked off a 15-square-mile "no protest zone" to protect the airport and conference centre. Transit corridors will allow convoys of VIPs to avoid violent demonstrators.

Hartmude Dudde, leading the security team for Hamburg police, told AP he would use every piece of equipment imaginable, including underwater and aerial drones. An estimated 20,000 officers will be on duty.

“You can count on a very quick reaction time,” he told reporters. “Well under a minute, that's the concept. They are, in principle, everywhere."

However, some residents say the security operation may prove counter-productive. "Local people complained that heavy-handed police have ratcheted up tensions," the Guardian says.