Hundreds of people started gathering at polling stations in Catalonia early Sunday to vote in an independence referendum banned by Madrid, according to AFP reporters on the ground.

In Barcelona, as well as Girona, the bastion of Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, people said they had turned out before dawn to protect polling stations and defend their right to vote, defying attempts by the central government to prevent the ballot from taking place.

Source: AFP