Police arrived at Piazza Independenza around 6 a.m. this morning and went back to the occupied building, which had already been evacuated last Saturday, in order to permanently clear the area.

Around 10 a.m. police once again used hydrants against some women who had remained in the square. One of them fell and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Doctors Without Borders said at least 13 people were injured.

 Following the evacuation, a group moved to a sidewalk next to Termini train station, later forming a march that blocked streets around the station, chanting "We're refugees, not terrorists" and "Shame on Italy". The group then stopped in a small park near Piazza della Repubblica, but fled and dispersed after police arrived on the scene.

Voices of women

"We were woken up by the water of the hydrants," said one of the evicted women. "They took some of us by our hair, even hitting with batons. It's absurd - we're political refugees, we have legal documents," she said.

"They grabbed us by our hair," another said. "That woman with her arm in a sling was hit by a baton and now she's going to the hospital. I also have marks on my side. It's not right. We've slept on the street for five nights. We only want a home," she said. "This is a welcoming country?" yelled another. "No, it's a fascist, inhumane country," she said, her voice broken by sobs. "We only want a home. For now, we've only seen proposals in the newspapers, no one has told us anything. This isn't a democratic country," others said. 

"They have to let us live," said another woman, visibly exhausted. "I had an operation a month ago, and since Saturday I've had to live under the sun, on the street," she said. "They hurt us because we're black, but aren't we families too? There are children on the street and no one does anything," said another. Her 13-year-old daughter has a heart condition and is currently staying at a friend's house. "Better than dying out on the street. We left our own country, but here it's worse than Africa," she said.

A storm of political controversy followed the evictions

The eviction raised a sea of political controversy, particularly against Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi of the 5-Star Movement (M5S) but also against the regional government and the national government led by the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the centre-right applauded the actions taken by the authorities.

Even Amnesty International is weighing in on the case. "In the face of isolated acts of violence on the part of people who have been sleeping on the street as a result of the August 14 eviction, the reaction of the police, both in the ways and the means used, seems completely disproportionate and unacceptable," said Gianni Rufini, director-general of Amnesty International Italy. "Every solution that regards the fate of those evicted must be agreed upon with them, not endured," he said.

Rome Prefect Paola Basilone expressed "deep appreciation for the profuse effort and professionalism demonstrated by the men and women of the police" in the evacuation operation of the building on Via Curtatone in Rome, which began last Saturday, and the one in Piazza Indipendenza, for "restoring conditions of legality and liability, also with regard to health and hygiene".