Some protesters responded by setting fire to containers to create barricades in the narrow Madrid streets. In Barcelona, there were similar scenes as local police the Mossos d’Esquadra fired rubber bullets into the crowd on Wednesday, injuring a Reuters reporter on the ground. When protesters began throwing projectiles at the armoured vans, the Mossos retaliated by shooting rubber bullets aimed at face-level. As the riots appeared to stagnate, large stretches of central Barcelona streets were choked with smoke from burning bins. A police source said there was no plan to bolster security nationwide for the protests, however.

Source: The Irish Times February 17, 2021 20:37 UTC