Pro-separatists stage new Barcelona rallies, government says violence fading

Hundreds of pro-independence protesters took to the streets of Barcelona for a seventh successive night on Sunday, with anger over the jailing of Catalan separatist leaders showing little sign of abating.

One large crowd blocked a road close to the Spanish government headquarters in Catalonia, throwing dozens of sacks of rubbish in front of stationary police vans. A smaller group shut off a major avenue to the east of the city.

However, there was no sign of the violence that has shaken Barcelona in recent days, particularly on Friday, when masked youths set fire to hundreds of garbage bins and hurled rocks, stones and bottles at security forces.

Acting Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters earlier in the day that 288 police officers had been hurt in the clashes, 267 police vehicles damaged and 194 people arrested. Several hundred protesters were also hurt.

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau said a policeman and a protester remained in a critical condition, adding that "several people" had been blinded in one eye by police rubber bullets.

City officials estimate that the rioting has caused 2.5 million euros (2.8 million U.S. dollars) worth of damage.

Independence is a highly divisive issue in Catalonia, which is Spain's wealthiest region and has 7.5 million inhabitants. A poll in July showed backing for secession at its lowest level in two years, with 48.3 percent of people against and 44 percent in favor.

Albert Rivera, head of the pro-unionist Ciudadanos party, staged a counter-protest on Sunday and called for an end to the violence.

Addressing hundreds of flag-waving supporters, Rivera accused Spain's caretaker Socialist government of not doing enough to stop the chaos in one of Europe's tourist hotspots.

"People can't take their children to school, they can't open their businesses," Barcelona-born Rivera said. "We need a Spanish government that protects the weak."

Spain's acting Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, dismissed calls on Saturday from Catalonia's pro-independence regional chief to hold talks aimed at defusing the crisis.

Sanchez said Catalonia President Quim Torra must first condemn the tumult unequivocally and then build bridges with the many Catalans who do not want secession.

Spanish media reported that Torra tried to talk to Sanchez by telephone on Saturday and again on Sunday but was rebuffed.

Torra said in a statement he has always condemned violence.