CLOSURE OF ISLAMIC CENTRE

Several cars and other vehicles were torched, while homemade explosives and stones were thrown at police in overnight clashes with youths in the Swedish city of Malmo as a result of the recent closure of a basement used as a mosque in the Rosengard district. There were no injuries and some 20 people were briefly detained. The protests became violent after police evicted youths who for three weeks had occupied the basement, which also was being used as an Islamic centre. The city of Malmo has some 270,000 inhabitants of which about 21,000 live in Rosengard. City officials estimate that some 50 languages are spoken in Rosengard, reflecting its multi-ethnic composition.