Berlin, June 2, IRNA -- A neo-Nazi march triggered riots in the north German port city of Hamburg as police clashed with hundreds of counter-demonstrators, according to news reports.

Hamburg's eastern suburb of Wandsbek was the scene of major street battles between

police and militant anti-Nazi protesters who had set up barricades to prevent

a neo-Nazi march from passing.

Protesters threw stones, bottles and fireworks at police and set garbage cans and

barricades on fire, forcing police to use water-cannons.

At least eight police officers were injured in the clashes, a police spokeswoman

was quoted as saying.

Hundreds of protesters have reportedly been detained as police helicopters hovered over

the city trying to contain the violent urban protests.

Eyewitnesses labeled the degree of destruction in Wandsbek as a result of the street violence 'catastrophic.'

Thick, choking black smoke billowed from the riot fire could be seen from several kilometers away, according to the Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Der Spiegel.

Thousands of police were deployed throughout Hamburg.

More than 10,000 people took to the streets in Hamburg earlier in the day,

protesting the neo-Nazi parade, called 'The day of the German Future.'

They rallied in a carnival-type atmosphere at a central rally on Hamburg's City Hall

Square, under the slogan 'Hamburg shows its true colours.'