Police operation in left-wing stronghold Rigaer Straße: Masked group sets fire to barricades in Berlin

On Wednesday night, barricades burned in Friedrichshain's Nordkiez. The police responded with a large-scale operation, including a helicopter.

Shortly before midnight: Smoke and flames over the Samariterkiez in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Around 11:50 p.m. late Tuesday evening, residents reported to the Berlin police via an emergency call. A large group of masked people dragged rubbish, e-scooters and traffic signs onto the street and set them on fire. Videos on social networks show blazing flames and a large cloud of smoke over Rigaer Strasse.

Although the police arrived quickly on site and accompanied the fire department's firefighting operation, the suspects were able to escape undetected. A search with a helicopter over the Friedrichshain rooftops was also unsuccessful, as Tagesspiegel learned from the Berlin police. The flames damaged the asphalt of the road and a street lamp.

There were several road closures in the immediate area around Rigaer Strasse until around 1:30 a.m. According to a police spokesman, no one was injured during the operation and there was no direct confrontation between the arsonists and emergency services.

Rigaer Straße around the autonomous retreat Rigaer 94 is considered the last stronghold of Berlin's radical left-wing scene. There are repeated attacks on police forces, including from nearby roofs. At the same time, things have become much quieter in Friedrichshain's northern district for years. Major riots that were once commonplace have become rare.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/polizeisatz-in-linker-hochburg-rig...

Friedrichshain – Fire alarm again in the left-wing riot stronghold!Masked people set rubbish on fire on Rigaer Strasse late on Tuesday evening. The flames shot up, damaging streetlights. Videos of the arson are circulating online.

As the Berlin police confirmed in response to B.Z.'s inquiry, a witness tip was received around 11:50 p.m. Several masked people had brought rubbish - including e-scooters and bicycles, shopping carts and rubber feet from traffic signs - onto the road at the intersection of Rigaer Strasse and Liebigstrasse and set it on fire.

A fierce fire blazed in the middle of the intersection. However, the fire brigade quickly brought the fire under control and no one was injured.

Police are using a helicopter to search for the perpetrators

The police launched a large-scale manhunt that night. Patrol cars searched for the arsonists, and a police helicopter checked the roofs of the densely built-up area. Without success: No suspect has been identified so far. For the search, the surrounding streets were largely closed to traffic until around 1:20 a.m.

Just last week, unknown people threw burning tires onto the road and set fire to wood on Rigaer Strasse. When police officers arrived, the situation escalated: the emergency services were deployed from rooftopspelted with stones and bottles and shot at with pyrotechnics.Here too, the masked people escaped undetected.

https://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin/vermummte-zuenden-unrat-an-wieder-feuer-...

“It is common practice around Rigaer Strasse for things to be piled up on the street and set on fire in order to trigger fire brigade and therefore police operations,” criticizes Benjamin Jendro, spokesman for the Berlin police union GdP. It is not uncommon for pyrotechnics, stones and other objects to be thrown at police officers from ambushes on roofs. “Every Democrat knows that the police and fire departments in this city have enough to do and this senseless riot tourism ties up forces that are needed elsewhere,” continued Jendro.

https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article413412790/polizei-hubschrauber-i...

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happens on October 13th, 2026

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