Riots continued for the fourth straight night in Sweden Wednesday, as youth set fire to cars and threw stones at police in immigrant suburbs of Stockholm and the southern Swedish city of Malmo.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has appealed for calm in the wake of the violence, which appears to have been instigated by the police shooting of a machete-wielding 69-year-old man in the Stockholm suburb of Husby this month. Police said the shooting was an act of self-defense, but it has triggered accusations of police brutality.
Riots began in Husby, which has a large immigrant population, on Sunday night and have spread to other locations, including the southern suburb of Fittja.
A police station in another southern suburb was set on fire, but no one was injured in the attack and the fire was quickly extinguished, according to media reports. Dozens of cars have been set ablaze during the riots, testing the resources of the local fire departments, according to the police.
At least one police officer was injured in the riots Wednesday night, and two schools, a restaurant and a cultural center have been damaged this week.
Growing Disparities
The violence has been attributed to the growing disparities between rich and poor in the country, where immigrant communities have been affected the most by cuts in state benefits over the past two decades. Official unemployment among the foreign-born is at 16 percent.
"The reason is very simple," Rouzbeh Djalaie, editor of a local newspaper in Husby told the news agency Reuters. "Unemployment, the housing situation, disrespect from police. It just takes something to start a riot, and that was the shooting."
Djalaie told Reuters that local youths are often the subject of unnecessary identity checks from police, who reportedly called them "apes" during the recent riots. The country ranks fourth among 44 industrialized nations in the absolute number of asylum seekers.
Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask called attacks on police officers or rescue personnel "unacceptable," but said she understood why many people in these suburbs are angry. "Social exclusion is a very serious cause of many problems, and we understand that," she said.
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On Wednesday, youth riots shook Stockholm and its immigrant suburbs for the fourth night in a row. Dozens of cars and a police station were set on fire. High youth unemployment and social exclusion have angered Sweden's immigrant population. Riots began in the Stockholm suburb of Husby Sunday night.
Police and riot gangs have repeatedly clashed in and around Stockholm in violent confrontations since Sunday. A police official said that firefighters have never had to battle so many blazes at the same time.
Large crowds of demonstrators protested against police violence in Sweden on Wednesday. The conflict between police and rioters highlights the growing social divide in the country. Although Sweden is well known for its generous welfare state, unemployment among immigrants (at 16 percent) is almost three times as high as among Sweden's native-born population (6 percent).
Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Stop police violence for an independent investigation" during a protest in the Stockholm suburb of Husby on May 22. A machete-wielding man was shot in the suburb -- which has a large immigrant population -- earlier this month, in what police say was an act of self-defense.
Rioters and police have had a number of violent standoffs since Sunday night. Protestors have thrown stones at police and firefighters and set cars and buildings on fire. At least one police officer was injured Wednesday night.
A man rests on a bench after being hit in the head with a stone during a demonstration against suspected police violence on May 22 in Husby.
A burned-out van is towed away after Monday's riots. Police blames youth gangs and criminals for the violence. Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask said she understands why many people in the suburbs are angry. "Social exclusion is a very serious cause of many problems, we understand that," she said.
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