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Sweden reinforcing police in riot-hit Stockholm Sweden riots spread beyond Stockholm despite extra police
(about 13 hours later)
Reinforcements of specially trained police are being sent to Stockholm after five nights of unprecedented rioting in the capital's suburbs. There has been a sixth night of rioting in Sweden's capital, Stockholm, despite police reinforcements being deployed.
Police officers are being sent from the cities of Gothenburg and Malmo, both of which saw rioting in recent years, a spokesman told BBC News. Cars were set alight in poor suburbs inhabited largely by immigrants, although the unrest was reportedly not as serious as on previous nights.
"They are trained and educated for the police tasks going on in Stockholm," Kjell Lindgren said. The rioting also spread outside the capital for the first time on Friday, with youths torching vehicles and buildings in two towns.
Several schools and scores of cars have been burnt in Stockholm this week. The US and UK meanwhile warned their citizens to avoid affected areas.
The nightly riots began on Sunday in the north-western suburb of Husby, a deprived, largely immigrant area. It is believed they were sparked by the death of a man nearly a week before, who was shot by police after he allegedly threatened to kill them with a machete. The UK Foreign Office advised people to stay away from large gatherings in the Stockholm suburbs of Husby, Hagsatra, Ragsved, Skogas, and to take care and monitor local reports.
The unrest has since spread around the city, with groups of youths stoning police and firefighters summoned to tackle arson attacks. The riots began on Sunday in Husby, a deprived, predominantly immigrant area in the north-west of the capital. It is believed they were sparked by the death of an elderly man nearly a week before, who was shot by police after he allegedly threatened to kill them with a machete.
The rioting has raised questions about the success of the country's attempts to integrate foreign-born residents, who now make up some 15% of the population. Rising inequality
In Husby, more than 80% of the 12,000 or so inhabitants are from an immigrant background, and most are from Turkey, the Middle East and Somalia. On Friday, Stockholm's police force was reinforced by specially trained officers from the cities of Gothenburg and Malmo, both of which have seen rioting in recent years.
Community activists have accused the police of using racist language during the unrest and prosecutors are investigating complaints. Police have tried to calm the situation by speaking to community leaders, such as in mosques. Parents and community leaders also toured the streets to reason with trouble-makers, and Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt held an emergency meeting.
However, the moves failed to prevent fresh disturbances overnight in four areas.
The BBC's Steve Evans in Stockholm says the disturbances were nevertheless not as serious as those seen previously. According to the fire brigade, there were 70 fires, compared with 90 on Thursday.
Outside the capital, the violence spread to previously unaffected towns, he adds.
In the central town of Orebro, about 25 masked youths set fire to three cars and a school, while in Sodertalje, west of the capital, an empty building was torched, police said. Suspected arson attacks were reported in Linkoping, south-east of Stockholm, as well.
Police in Orebro were pelted with stones and at least one officer was slightly hurt by broken glass, Swedish media reported.
Our correspondent says there is now a debate in Sweden about immigration.
In the affected areas themselves, some people say the riots are a response to discrimination and relatively high unemployment. Sweden, once a by-word for equality, has seen a widening gap between rich and poor, our correspondent says.
Others argue that the unrest is a simple matter of criminality, where parents failed to exert enough influence on their offspring, he adds.
"In the short run, the acute thing is to ensure that these neighbourhoods get back to normal everyday life," Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag told the Reuters news agency. "In the long run we need to create positive spirals in these neighbourhoods."