At least 151 detained on the third night of riots in the Netherlands

Globe Live Media, Monday, January 26, 2021

The Dutch Police detained at least 151 people during the early hours of Tuesday morning during clashes between agents and groups of young people who called protests against the application of the curfew, in which it is and to the third consecutive night of riots in the Netherlands.

At least 151 young people were arrested in different cities, according to the Chief of Police, Willem Woelers, although this number is expected to be even higher because the crashes have been registered until the early hours in Bolduque (Den Bosch) and Rotterdam, where they were especially violent, which has required the intervention of the riot police.

In Bolduque, the protest began at the beginning of the curfew, at 9:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT), when dozens of people gathered on social media with the intention of attacking the agents with fireworks, although -even before police intervened – they broke windows, ransacked a supermarket and an electronics store, overturned several cars and set fire to public furniture.

“What happened tonight is unheard of. These people do not realize at all the fear, worry, harm and shame they cause to the residents of the city. Lots of wrongdoers ruin everything for many other people. There are many of us who do not understand anything about this behavior, ”said the mayor of the city, Jack Mikkers.

RIOT GEAR

According to Mikkers, it took a long time for the riot police to reach the area of ​​the protests and that allowed the youth to act “leaving a trail of unimaginable destruction”, but these special agents were also deployed in Helmond, Oss and Eindhoven, which could have delayed his arrival in Bolduque.

The police claim to have done everything possible to stop this group, and an investigation is now underway to arrest those responsible.

In the southern part of Rotterdam, a group of about 200 agitators began a confrontation with the police, throwing stones and fireworks at them and then following the same methodology as in the rest of the country, looting shops and breaking windows, although they also tried to set fire to a Police station.

The police used water cannons to disperse the group, although there was also a shot in the air as a warning after the officers were cornered by several youths.

There was also movement in other parts of the country, such as in the eastern part of Amsterdam, Haarlem, The Hague, Geleen, Helmond, Zwolle, Almelo, Breda and Tilburg, but the police managed to control the situation more quickly.

Mayors and deputies have underlined their concern about the new night of riots, the third since the curfew entered into force on Saturday.

“Shameless thieves, I can’t say anything else. We had to threaten the use of tear gas, a far-reaching measure, I find it sad because I have never had to do something like that in my entire career, ”answered the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb.