Violent clashes as Catalan separatists protest in Barcelona

The mayor of Barcelona pleaded for calm after six days of demonstrations against the jailing of Catalonia separatist leaders left hundreds injured.

Barcelona has been rocked all week by protests against a Spanish court's jailing of nine separatist leaders on sedition charges over the failed 2017 independence bid.

On Saturday, Mayor Ada Colau said that Friday's violence had been the worst so far, and called on protesters to calm down, saying: "This cannot continue. Barcelona does not deserve it."

An estimated 500,000 people took to the streets in the city on Friday night in a show of support for the pro-independence movement.

The protests soon turned violent as hundreds of masked people surrounded the police headquarters – with clashes continuing late into the night.

Officials estimate that more than 500 people have been injured during the violence, including both police and rioters, with 18 people still in hospital. One of them is believed to be in a serious condition.

Pro-independence activists on Saturday formed a human chain between police and protesters following the previous night's clashes.

On the famous Las Ramblas avenue, protesters set up barricades and lit fires before they were dispersed by police firing foam projectiles.

According to Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain's interior minister, 101 police officers were injured during Friday's violence alone – and more than 250 police vehicles have been seriously damaged during the week's protests.

Grande-Marlaska has asked Catalonia's president to condemn the violence and express support for the police. Catalan leader Quim Torra has told protesters to stop using violence and respect the huge separatist movement in the region, whereas the vice-president, Pere Aragones, criticized the aggressive tactics of the police.

"All this is very sad, and is not helping our cause," AssumpcioSegui, a 75-year old pro-independence pensioner told AFP.

"I reject all forms of violence, I have come here for peace," said Carmen Fernandez, 65.

The crisis first flared in October 2017, when a banned independence referendum was met with a heavy police crackdown, and Madrid imposed direct rule on the region shortly after.

The separatist majority in the Catalan Parliament declared independence on Oct 27, but using its emergency powers, Madrid dissolved Parliament, sacked its leaders and called a snap election in December.

Separatists then won a slim majority, and the following May, Catalonia's Parliament swore in Torra as their new president, after Madrid blocked several other candidates.

CarlesPuigdemont – then Catalan president – fled abroad with several other leaders, while many who remained were arrested and charged with treason.

Spain's Supreme Court finally sentenced nine of the arrested Catalan leaders in October, sparking the latest unrest.

The Catalan economy has suffered through the crisis, with thousands of businesses, including major banks and energy companies, moving their headquarters out of the region.

The European Union has treated the crisis as an internal matter for Spain, and has ignored separatists' pleas for support. In 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit, which compiles an influential annual democracy ranking, said Spain risked being downgraded from a "full democracy" to a "flawed" one over its handling of the situation.