Swedish police in the city of Växjö were attacked by a gang of up to 15 youths armed with Molotov cocktails after they arrested two people for drunk driving on New Year’s Eve.
According to Evelina Olsson, spokeswoman for the South Region police, one police officer had flammable liquid on his clothing but none of the officers were injured, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.
The attackers immediately fled the scene following the incident which occurred at around 11pm. According to Olsson, no arrests were made but an investigation into rioting was launched.
The Swedish capital of Stockholm was relatively calm on New Year’s Eve except for a notable incident in the “vulnerable” no-go suburb of Husby where police were attacked with rockets and firecrackers. Elsewhere in Stockholm police say a woman reported being raped and was taken to a local hospital.
The most serious incidents occurred in Vinslöv north of Hässleholm and saw a 34-year-old man brutally beaten and stabbed by several attackers, and in Trollhättan where another man had been seriously stabbed. No suspects were arrested in either of the two incidents.
Last year, Sweden also saw an attempted murder in Haninge municipality along with attacks on police officers by youths armed with fireworks in Kristianstad. Around 17 cars were also set on fire in Gothenburg.
The city of Växjö, where the molotov attack took place this week, made headlines in 2018 after the local Muslim community demanded the right to publically broadcast the call to prayer with local Imam Ismail Abu Helal stating: “Muslims are not visitors in Växjö, we live here.” The request was later granted by police several months later.
France, which has a history of car burnings over New Year’s Eve, recorded hundreds of cars being set on fire during the night, including 220 cars in the city of Strasbourg and 127 in Besançon.
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