ERKELENZ/ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - Energy company RWE has announced that it will begin "dismantling" the Rhenish lignite site of Lützerath this Wednesday. "As one of the first measures, a construction fence a good one and a half kilometers long will be erected for safety reasons," the group announced this morning. "It marks the company's own construction site, where the remaining buildings, ancillary facilities, roads and canals of the former settlement will be dismantled over the next few weeks. In addition, trees and shrubs will be removed."

The company left open whether this would also mark the start of the police operation to clear the site, referring to the police. The police in turn only confirmed that an evacuation "can be expected at any time from Wednesday". A police spokesman announced further measures to cordon off the site. Lützerath could be surrounded by the police in the course of the operation.

Early Wednesday morning, strong emergency forces were already assembled around Lützerath, dpa reporters reported. It was raining heavily and persistently, a strong wind was blowing, and the ground was soggy.

Climate activists have occupied the abandoned settlement and intend to resist the announced eviction. "All necessary permits and court decisions have been obtained, and all original residents have long since left the site," RWE stressed. "The company regrets that the upcoming dismantling can only take place under heavy police protection and that opponents of the open pit mine are calling for unlawful disruptive actions and also criminal acts."

The coal that lies beneath Lützerath is needed to save gas for power generation in Germany during the energy crisis, the energy company argued. The activists dispute this, pointing among other things to a study by scientists from several universities who have joined forces as the "CoalExit Research Group." According to this study, the coal in the current mining area is sufficient by all means - even under the conditions of the energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine war.

According to Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach, the upcoming evacuation of the protest village is one of the most challenging operations in recent years. Police are receiving support from all over Germany for the operation. Activists have erected about 25 tree houses, some of them at great heights.

"Despite the rain, people are still determined," activist Lakshmi said Wednesday morning in Luetzerath. "We will continue to use blockade techniques to oppose police power."

Lützerath is a district of Erkelenz, a city of 43,000 people in western North Rhine-Westphalia. The hamlet, located in the middle of fields, is now right on the edge of the Garzweiler open-pit lignite mine. The coal underneath is to be extracted for power generation./mhe/DP/stk