Jakarta, CNN Indonesia --

The demonstration of thousands of people from the right-wing group led by  Tommy Robinson in central London, England, Saturday (13/9), was marred by chaos.

Police arrested nine people after encountering"unacceptable violence" while trying to control the crowd.

Thousands of people carrying British and Great Britain flags gathered since morning local time in and around Westminster.

Meanwhile, around 5,000 people took to the streets in a Stand Up to Racism rally not far from the right-wing group's action point.

London's Metropolitan Police deployed around 1,000 police to separate the two opposing groups.

Clashes broke out after some people were unable to access the main stage area and tried to enter a sterile area near the anti-racism demonstrators.

"When officers moved to stop them, they were met with unacceptable violence," police said, as quoted by AFP.

Several police officers were attacked with kicks and punches. Bottles, flares, and other projectiles were thrown.

"Nine arrests have been made so far for various offences, but more people have been identified for offences," police said.

The 'Unite the Kingdom' crowd gathered near Downing Street to hear speeches from far-right figures from across Europe and North America.

"The silent majority will be silent no longer," Robinson told the protesters."Today is the spark of a cultural revolution."

The conflicting demonstrations come amid rising anti-immigration sentiment, as Nigel Farage's hard-right Brexit-supporting Reform UK party leads in opinion polls.

London police, who deployed officers from other police forces to control the protesters, did not meet each other.

Some people at Robinson's event placed photos of Charlie Kirk, the American right-wing activist and Donald Trump ally who was shot dead this week, on various props.

Speakers included Elon Musk, who joined via video link, French politician Eric Zemmour, and Petr Bystron of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

"You guys are in a fundamental situation here," Musk told the protesters.

The protests came more than a year after anti-immigration riots swept through several cities in August 2024. Robinson was accused of instigating the riots.

(fra/afp/fra)