Italy: North African immigrants riot, block highway and railway

Several hundred immigrants, who were living in Bari, have blocked roads and tracks near the community center in protest against bureaucratic delays which would delay the release of the status of refugees. According to initial reports, some protesters were armed with iron bars and they attacked the police. Police cars were damaged, there were casualties, even among some passers-by.

 

The migrants have blocked the main road, 17bis, in both directions and were causing inconveniences to the movement of trains along the tracks adjacent to the reception center for asylum seekers. A massive number of policemen arrived at the scene. “We want the documents“: this is Mohamed, one of the immigrants who took part in the protest, he answered the question by a reporter of a local television station who asked why the event degenerated into clashes. Mohamed added that he had been living in Cara di Bari for seven months and still doesn’t know anything about his request for asylum. “If they give us the documents, we end the barricade,” said another protester. The police, in riot gear and also using tear gas, forced demonstrators to retreat and tried to bring them close to the reception center for asylum applicants.

A group of immigrants who had been isolated in the countryside around the train by the police, they suddenly reacted by throwing stones at the policemen. The police fired tear gas from a police helicopter that attempted to disperse the protesters. After putting the police to flight, immigrants started to throw stones against the journalists, who have sought refuge on an overpass above the area of the clashes. The situation has settled temporarily. The demonstrators were dispersed in some rural areas, while police vehicles were deployed on the overpass at a safe distance. A protester was handcuffed and arrested, and then doctors saw some of the wounds he had on his arms. The area continues to be glossed over by a police helicopter, while the agents are located around.

 

Dozens of police and carabinieri were injured by the immigrants of Cara di Bari. The police have launched them to cope with immigrants throwing large stones taken from the stone walls of the building, while the police and protesters are kept at a distance. Immigrants were divided into small groups along the perimeter of the center, while the police are located in the surrounding area around the means of rescue. Apparently, a delegation of protesters went back to the fence, where they attempted to negotiate with officials of the Police, the Prefecture, the Municipality of Bari and the Puglia Region. The latter tried to convince immigrants to withdraw the protest. Some groups of protesters stationed on the railroad tracks Bari North, which were blocked with boulders. Rail traffic was blocked on this line and also on the State Railways, which both run close to the fence of Cara. (…)

via Rivolta degli immigrati del Cara
Bloccati binari, Ss 16 bis e complanari – El Corriere della Sera.

Result: 98 injured, 28 arrested:

 At least 98 people were injured or wounded in a protest staged by immigrants at the asylum-seekers centre in Bari. Most of the injuries were caused by stone-throwing when immigrants at the asylum-seekers centre staged a protest yesterday blocking the bypass near Bari’s A-road 16 and the nearby railway network. One person reportedly suffered serious face injuries and tooth loss. Twenty-eight people were arrested accused of bodily harm, coercion and other offences. .