Several days of unrest in Sweden, sparked by plans by a far-right group to burn copies of the Koran, have injured several dozen people.
The protests turned violent in several cities on Thursday, injuring 26 police officers and 14 civilians, police told a news conference Monday.
The riots were sparked by the leader of the anti-immigration and anti-Islamic group Hard Line, Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan, who is seeking support before the September elections.
Paludan – who intends to run in the poll in September but does not yet have the signatures needed to secure his candidacy – went on a “tour” of Sweden, visiting Muslim-populated cities with the intention of burning copies of the Koran during the holy month of Ramadan. .
Clashes with police erupted during protests against the group on Thursday night, starting in the cities of Linköping and Norrkoping.
They spread to the city of Malmö, where a school was set on fire during a second night of Saturday-Sunday unrest.
“Criminals have taken advantage of the situation to show violence against society, with nothing to do with the demonstrations,” National Police Chief Anders Thornberg told a news conference Monday.
“We have too few of us. We have grown, but we have not grown at the same pace as the problems in the heart of society, “he said, asking for more money for the police.
People set fire to branches to block a road before a demonstration in Norrkoping on Sunday. Photo: TT / Reuters
As protesters burned cars and stoned police in Sunday clashes, officers responded, said Special Forces Chief Jonas Hissing.
“About 200 participants were violent and the police had to respond with weapons in legal self-defense,” he said.
Police said earlier that officers had injured three people after firing warning shots during Sunday’s “riot”.
Eight people were arrested in the town of Norrkoping and 18 people were detained in the neighboring town of Linköping for the violence.
Following the incidents, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Swedish interim in Baghdad on Sunday.
It said the affair could have “serious consequences” for “relations between Sweden and Muslims in general, both Muslim and Arab countries and Muslim communities in Europe”.
The official agency of Saudi Arabia said that the kingdom “condemned the agitation of some extremists in Sweden and their provocations against Muslims.”
In November 2020, Paludan was arrested in France and deported. Five other activists were arrested in Belgium shortly afterwards, accused of wanting to “spread hatred” by burning the Koran in Brussels.
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