Several thousand people gathered to protest in Berlin on Saturday as part of the Unteilbar (Indivisible) movement against climate change, racism and other forms of social injustice.

An alliance of some 350 organizations including the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), rights group Amnesty International, the Fridays for Future climate movement and the Berlin tenants' association took part.

Organizers said the protest aimed to highlight the threats to social cohesion both in Germany and abroad.

Ahead of the rally, police said they were preparing to manage a crowd of up to 30,000 people but weren't expecting any violence.

The rally began in Berlin's government quarter before heading to Alexanderplatz.

Timed for German election

The protest took place almost three weeks before the German election that will determine a successor for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is stepping down after 16 years of leading Germany.

Representatives from the climate-friendly Greens, center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the socialist Left party were also taking part in the rally.

The latest polls suggest the SPD is leading the main ruling conservative CDU/CSU bloc for the first time in 15 years.

The SPD is ahead by three percentage points at 25%, while the Greens, who enjoyed a strong start to the election campaign, stand in third place at 17%.

Highlighting the plight of Afghan refugees 

Some of the attendees drew attention to the emerging humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and neighboring countries after the Taliban seized control of the country three weeks ago.

Amnesty International called on EU member states to keep their borders open for Afghans seeking refuge in Europe.

An appearance by whistleblower Edward Snowden, who lives in exile in Russia, was also planned via video link.

The Unteilbar alliance has organized repeated large rallies campaigning for an open and fairer society, many of them around state elections or after violent incidents, like the right-wing extremist attack on the synagogue in Halle.

In 2018, some 240,000 marched in Berlin, according to the group.

mm/sms (AFP, dpa)