Arrests Made as Protestors Breach Syrian Embassies in London, Berlin

Five men were arrested Saturday after gaining entry to the Syrian embassy in London, police said, as protesters demonstrated outside the building.

Around 150 protesters gathered outside the plush property in Belgrave Square, one of central London's finest squares, which houses a string of embassies.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the arrests were for public order offences after the demonstration broke out at around 2:00am (0200 GMT).

The spokesman said "appropriate policing" was now in place.

Around 20 protesters broke into the Syrian Embassy in Berlin Friday, causing damage in several offices and daubing slogans on walls before being arrested, police said.

Then protesters who were all "Syrians or of Syrian origin," entered the embassy grounds at around 4:30 pm Friday (1530 GMT) and "destroyed furniture, hung a flag from a window," before writing slogans on the embassy walls, the police said in a statement.

Alerted to the intrusion "police arrived swiftly and arrested the protesters who put up no resistance," the statement added.

The intruders were released after supplying their identities.

A German foreign ministry spokesman said, in a separate statement, that "the acts committed against the Syrian embassy in Berlin must be condemned in the firmest manner."

"The government takes very seriously its responsibilities for the security of all the diplomatic and consular representations in Germany," the spokesman added.

Berlin's coordinator for Middle East policy, Boris Ruge, phoned the Syrian ambassador to brief him on the events and express his regret, the ministry added.

The ambassador, who was present when the police made their arrests, allowed the German authorities to search the premises to ensure there were no other protesters present.

He then lodged an official complaint and a police enquiry has been launched.