'One inch from CIVIL WAR' Spanish officers ATTACK Catalan police amid explosive unrest
SPANISH police have attacked local Catalan police as violence erupts in the controversial independence referendum.
Catalan police step in as Spanish officers manhandle protesters
Spanish police have been filmed attacking Catalan police officers for getting in the way of their heavy-handed crackdown of the independence vote.
In shocking scenes, members of the Catalan police force, the Mossos, confront the Spanish Civil Guard who are hitting voters with batons.
The Catalan law enforcers urged the Spanish police, who arrived in the region ahead of the vote, to calm down.
However, the Spanish officers reacted by attacking the Catalan forces.
The tense scuffle between the two police forces shows how deeply divided Spain is over the referendum.
The Spanish central government has deemed the referendum "illegal" and urged locals to put an end to the "farce".
However, brutal footage of Spanish police officers stomping on voters and firing rubber bullets into unarmed crowds have gone viral.
Catalan department of health said 465 people have been treated following clashes with violent Spanish police officers today.
In one encounter with the Civil Guard, which is Spain’s military law enforcement agency, sees Catalan police desperately trying to defend voters from the Spanish police.
Other footage reveals the Spanish Civil Guard hitting crowds of local firemen, who had formed a human chain to shield unarmed voters from violence.
Following the filmed confrontation, the Civil Guard launched an astonishing attack on social media against Catalan’s local police force over their response to the referendum.
They captioned footage of the Mossos standing up to the Civil Guard: "Some seem to be unclear. Shameful."
Another post accused Mossos of ignoring the Spanish court order to halt the referendum, preferring to eat a sandwich instead.
One user on Twitter said: "Catalan police is now defending voters from Spanish police. That's one inch from a civil war."
The Civil Guard has shut down 92 "illegal voting centres" across Catalonia.