Madrid: The Spanish government has sacked the operational chief of Catalan’s regional police force, Josep Lluis Trapero, after taking control of the region to block its push for independence, the official government gazette said on Saturday.

The regional police force also urged its members to behave in a neutral manner and not takes sides in the dispute in an internal note seen by Reuters.

The Madrid government dismissed the Catalan government, took over the administration and called a new election after the region declared independence on Friday.