The Spanish government has stripped Catalonia's most senior police officials of their powers, hours after direct rule was imposed on the region, BBC reports.

This is the first specific measure taken since the Catalan parliament voted to declare independence.
PM Mariano Rajoy has also announced the dissolution of the regional parliament and the removal of the Catalan leader, and called for snap local elections.

Demonstrations for and against independence went on into the night.

More are expected on Saturday, with a rally "for the unity of Spain and the constitution" to be held in Madrid.
The crisis began when Catalan leaders held an independence referendum, defying a ruling by the Constitutional Court which had declared it illegal.

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