The Amsterdam police are to clear a number of squats at three different locations in the city today.

Mayor Eberhard van der Laan initially wanted today's operation to be just the first round in a series of evictions, but he changed his mind after the court in The Hague ruled that recently introduced anti-squatting legislation violates the European Convention on Human Rights.

The three squats in today's operation are cleared as a result of a court ruling in civil proceedings brought by the owners. On Monday, two squats elsewhere in Amsterdam were cleared without much opposition.

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