German official pelted with water bottles in Greece

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Nikolas Giakoumidis/APA protester, not seen, throws a coffee at German consul Wolfgang Hoelscher-Obermaier, with the blue shirt, in Thessaloniki Thursday.By ReutersATHENS - Public sector workers stormed a building where Greek and German officials were meeting in the northern city of Thessaloniki Thursday and pelted a German diplomat with water bottles in a protest over austerity measures.

Riot police used teargas and truncheons to break up a crowd of 250 city employees outside the building and formed a shield around German Consul Wolfgang Hoelscher-Obermaier as he entered.

Photographs also showed coffee being thrown over Hoelscher-Obermaier.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld Protesters chanted "It's now or never!" and held up mock gravestones and banners proclaiming "Fight until the end!"

They said they were furious at comments by German envoy Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, who told journalists on Wednesday that Greece could do more to reform its bloated local government sector, the head of the workers' union said.

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