Catalan referendum: Clashes as voters defy Madrid

Catalonia's independence referendum has descended into chaos, with clashes occurring as police try and prevent the vote from taking place.
The spanish authorities has pledged to prevent a poll that become declared illegal by the united states's constitutional courtroom.
Cops are stopping humans from voting, and seizing poll papers and packing containers at polling stations.
Within the local capital barcelona, police used batons and fired rubber bullets in the course of pro-referendum protests.
Catalan emergency services said they'd treated 38 those who were injured whilst police pushed again crowds of electorate and forced their manner into polling stations.
The spanish indoors ministry stated eleven law enforcement officials have been injured.
Catalan leader carles puigdemont condemned the movement of the country wide police and guardia civil, who had been despatched into catalonia in huge numbers to save you the vote from taking region.
"the unjustified use of violence... By way of the spanish kingdom will no longer forestall the will of the catalan humans," he advised journalists.
However spanish indoors minister juan ignacio zoido blamed mr puigdemont for what he termed the day's senseless activities.
And the guardia civil tweeted (in spanish) that it became "resisting harassment and provocation" at the same time as wearing out its duties "in defence of the law".
What are the cutting-edge tendencies?
The ballot  papers incorporate simply one question: "do you need catalonia to come to be an impartial country within the form of a republic?" there are  packing containers: yes or no.
In advance of the polls commencing, the catalan authorities stated citizens could print off their personal ballot  papers and use any polling station if their certain voting area was shut.


Media captionpolice use batons on a crowd in barcelona
Within the town of girona, rebellion police smashed their way into a polling station wherein mr puigdemont changed into because of vote.
Tv pictures showed them breaking the glass of the sports activities centre's front door and forcibly eliminating those trying to vote.
But, mr puigdemont changed into nevertheless able to solid his ballot  at any other polling station.
Why those are uncharted waters for spain
Spain's pass to halt catalan vote
Considering friday, heaps of separatist supporters had occupied faculties and different buildings designated as polling stations if you want to preserve them open.
A lot of those inner were mother and father and their youngsters, who remained within the buildings after the quit of lessons on friday and bedded down in dozing bags on health club mats.
In a few regions, farmers positioned tractors on roads and in the front of polling station doorways, and school gates had been taken away to make it tougher for the authorities to seal homes off.
Referendum organisers had called for non violent resistance to any police movement.
Meanwhile, both fc barcelona and the catalan football federation have requested the spanish football league for this night's in shape against las palmas to be suspended.
Gray line
'mood of celebration'
Tom burridge, bbc information, barcelona
 women cast their ballot  inside the referendum vote at escola industrial of barcelona school polling station on october 1, 2017 in barcelona, spainimage copyrightgetty pictures
It began in the darkish and the rain. Daniel, who arrived at his neighborhood college at 01:00 and slept in the road outside, said his grandfather might were pleased with him.
He and hundreds of others blocked the doorway for numerous hours earlier than this polling station opened.
Unexpectedly there has been silence. Two officials from catalonia's regional police pressure had arrived.
However a human wall changed into formed, and the police left.
Countrywide spanish rise up police arrived at another polling station nearby in barcelona however once more, humans there kept them back.
One witness said there were scuffles and showed me a photograph of a center-elderly woman with a bloody face.
But in the college sports activities hall, there's a temper of birthday celebration as humans take selfies as they forged their votes.
Catalonia's former president, artur más - the man in charge whilst catalan nationalists genuinely started pushing for a referendum - instructed me that humans have been vote casting peacefully inside the face of "a violent spanish nation".
Grey line
How did madrid prepare for the vote?
Thousands of extra cops have been despatched to the region, a lot of them based on two ships inside the port of barcelona.
The spanish authorities has placed policing in catalonia below important manage and ordered the nearby force, the mossos d'esquadra, to help put into effect the ban at the unlawful referendum.
In a show of force in advance of the ballot , spanish authorities seized voting materials, imposed fines on top catalan officers and temporarily detained dozens of politicians.
Police have additionally occupied the nearby authorities's telecommunications centre.
Why is a vote being held?
Catalonia, a wealthy area of seven.5 million human beings in north-japanese spain, has its very own language and tradition.
It additionally has a excessive degree of autonomy, but isn't always regarded as a separate nation below the spanish charter.


Media captionwhy some catalans want independence - and others do not
Stress for a vote on self-determination has grown over the last five years.
But spanish unionists argue catalonia already enjoys wide autonomy within spain, along side different areas just like the basque u . S . And galicia.
Does catalonia want to depart spain?
Spain's distinctive north-japanese area
Why is madrid so antagonistic?
Spanish high minister mariano rajoy says the vote goes against the charter, which refers to "the indissoluble team spirit of the spanish nation, the commonplace and indivisible place of birth of all spaniards".
Critical government spokesman iñigo mendez de vigo accused the catalan government of being rigid and one-sided, however it's far a rate that catalan nationalists throw again at madrid itself.
Catalonia in numbers
16% of spain's population stay in catalonia, and it produces:
25.6% of spain's exports
19% of spain's gdp
20.7% of overseas funding
Ministry of economy, industry and competitiveness, eurostat, bank of spain
Getty
Demonstrations by independence campaigners were in large part non violent.
On the eve of the vote, thousands of demonstrators calling for spanish solidarity held rallies in towns across spain, together with in barcelona.
They waved spanish flags and carried banners studying "catalonia is spain".