Aiming for Catalonia's independence from Spain by 2021 end

Catalonia's pro-independence regional chief Quim Torra said on Thursday he aims for the region to be independent from Spain by the end of 2021 if Catalan parties agree to it, TRT World reports.

Addressing the regional parliament, he also said he wanted a proposal for a "Catalan republic" to be ready by the spring of next year. Torra previously said a new vote would have to be held to decide on self-determination for Catalonia.The regional parliament's term expires in December 2021.

The northeastern Spanish region has been rocked by protests over the past three days after the Supreme Court jailed nine separatist leaders over a failed 2017 independence bid in which they held a referendum that courts had deemed illegal.Torra, addressing the regional parliament after protesters threw petrol bombs at police and torched cars on Wednesday evening, said there was a "false narrative" that the Catalan separatist movement was violent.

At least 100 injured

Also on Thursday, emergency services said at least 100 protesters were wounded in the previous night of clashes. For the third night running, protesters clashed violently with riot police in the Catalan capital, torching cars and garbage bins, as they expressed their fury over the sentencing of the Catalan separatists.Emergency services said 58 people were injured in Barcelona, including a 17-year-old who was hit by a police van. Another 38 people were injured in protests in other Catalan cities.Police arrested 33 people across the region, including 12 in Barcelona which recorded the most violent protests.

Massive marches

Several roads were blocked across Catalonia on Thursday due to marches that departed from five Catalan towns the day before heading for Barcelona, local officials said.The marchers plan to converge in Barcelona on Friday when unions have called a general strike in the region.

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