Scuffle breaks out at disputed war monument after nationalists try to protest

A scuffle broke out at a war monument Friday after several Estonian nationalists tried to lay a wreath to victims of Soviet oppression but were confronted by another group.

The fight came one day after President Toomas Hendrik Ilves vetoed a law calling for the monument's removal.

The monument, dubbed the Bronze Soldier, symbolizes 50 years of Soviet oppression for Estonians - but for ethnic Russians it represents the defeat of fascist Germany.

"Nobody was hurt. Everybody backed off and left their own way," Tallinn police spokesman Harrys Puusepp, the AP reports.

He said no arrests were made but a inquiry was launched to determine whether the nationalist group - the Estonian National Movement - had violated regulations since they had not registered their protest.

Meanwhile, the Estonian National Movement held a legal demonstration outside the Russian Embassy on Friday to protest at Russia's alleged interference in Estonia's internal affairs.

Puusepp said some 10 people took part in the protest.

Relations between Estonia and Russia have deteriorated over Estonia's intention to remove the Bronze Soldier and a war grave nearby.