Hamburg's streets have been overrun by violence on the first day of the G20 summit in Germany.
Evening demonstrations turned violent. Photo: AFP
Fires are burning downtown in the city after a second day of clashes between anti-capitalist protesters and the police protecting the G20 summit.
Hamburg police said nearly 200 officers had been injured in the clashes with 83 protesters temporarily detained and 19 taken into custody.
Reinforcements poured in from across Germany but the authorities have been unable to prevent thousands of protesters from fanning out across city.
Police officers attempt to disperse demonstrators. Photo: AFP
The protesters have torched cars and trucks, and looted retail stores.
Police have used water cannons and ppepper spray against crowds, drawing accusations of heavy-handedness.
The protesters are mainly anti-capitalist but US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were also being singled out as targets.
Riot police use water cannon on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, northern Germany, where leaders of the world's top economies gather for a G20 summit. Photo: AFP
They were also blasting Jimi Hendrix music in a bid to drown out the Beethoven's 9th Symphony being played for leaders of the world's 20 most powerful countries in a concert hall across the Elbe River.
Participants in the G20 meeting praised the work of the police in keeping the event safe but said they had never seen protesters closer to such a summit than in Hamburg.
Trump and Putin discuss US election interference
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump shake hands during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Photo: AFP
Meanwhile on the sidelines of the summit, Mr Trump and Mr Putin have met for several hours.
The pair discussed the claims of Russian interference in last year's American presidential election during their first face-to-face meeting.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the exchanges on as "robust".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Mr Trump had "accepted" Mr Putin's assertions Russia's country was not responsible.
Mr Tillerson said it was not clear whether the two countries would ever come to an agreement on what happened.
Other topics discussed by the presidents during their meeting - which lasted nearly two-and-a-quarter hours - included the war in Syria, terrorism and cybersecurity.
- BBC / Reuters
