STOCKHOLM: Police have called in reinforcements as the Swedish capital braces for a fifth night of riots in its immigrant-dominated suburbs.
The riots, which have shattered Sweden's image abroad as a peaceful and egalitarian nation, have sparked a debate in Sweden about the assimilation of immigrants, who make up about 15 per cent of the population.
Many of the immigrants who have arrived due to the country's generous refugee policy struggle to learn the language and find employment, despite numerous government programs.
Police said yesterday they would be calling in reinforcements from other parts of the country as they braced for more trouble in coming days. The fire brigade said it was called to some 90 different blazes on Wednesday night, most caused by rioters.
Early yesterday, rioters hurled rocks at a local police station in the Kista district, near the suburb of Husby where the unrest began on Sunday night, while rocks were also thrown at two local police stations south of Stockholm. In the southern suburb of Skogaas, a restaurant was set on fire.
"We are gradually becoming more like other countries," said Aje Carlbom, a social anthropologist at Malmoe University.
Agence France-Presse