AACHEN (dpa-AFX) - Police in Aachen, Germany, responsible for evicting the village of Lützerath, which was occupied by climate activists, plan to deploy the force for a total of four weeks. "The forces will come from all over Germany," said head of operations Wilhelm Sauer in Aachen on Monday. He did not say how many police officers will be involved.

An evacuation of the hamlet, which is located directly next to the Garzweiler open-pit lignite mine, can be expected from Wednesday or the following days, said Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach. "Since we will still hold an information event for citizens in Erkelenz tomorrow, they should expect the evacuation to begin from the day after tomorrow or the following days," he said.

Activists have been living in the abandoned buildings of Lützerath for months to prevent the site from being cleared and dredged for open pit mining.

There are seven barricaded houses and 27 tree houses in Lützerath, Weinspach said. According to police estimates, about 300 people are currently staying there, and there is still arrival traffic. There are about 250 more people in a camp in the neighboring village of Keyenberg, according to police. Parts of the scene in Lützerath are ready for violence, but this part is a small part of the scene, he said. "Predominantly, we experience the protest spectrum there peacefully," Weinspach said. He hopes it stays that way.

Energy company RWE wants to demolish Lützerath, in the Rhineland region of western North Rhine-Westphalia, to mine the coal underneath. The land and houses of the village, which is dominated by arable farming, belong to RWE. However, activists who have announced resistance now live in the remaining premises, whose former residents have moved away. They see no need for the removal and burning of the coal.

Operations manager Sauer spoke Monday of an extensive operations area with many unknowns. "We don't know what to expect in it," he said of the houses and large barns. Nor do they know if traps have been set or if roofs are being scaled, he said. Barricades and blockades abound, he said. Among the possible scenarios, he said, was the occupation of 96-meter-high large excavators in the open pit. The operations management is prepared for this, he said.

Police will try to resolve situations through communication and talks, he said. Weinspach said police have the impression that citizens are also currently involved in preparations for a violent escalation of this conflict by participating in the bunkering of cobblestones, the smashing of roof tiles and the creation of dumps. These are preparations for a violent escalation that no one - neither the assembly participants, nor the squatters, nor even the police - wants, Weinspach said.

The background to the upcoming police operation is a general order issued by the district of Heinsberg to evacuate the village. The general order prohibits people from staying from December 23, 2022 to February 13, 2023. If this order is not followed, the order provides the basis "for taking eviction measures from January 10," it said - so theoretically also from Tuesday. According to the police chief, however, this is not yet to be expected immediately./uho/DP/he