The leader of Italy's Northern
League party Matteo Salvini said on Friday that state
authorities should stop opposing anti-immigrant feeling in the
country after police clashed with people protesting against the
arrival of refugees in Rome and protesters near the northern
city of Treviso forced local authorities to move migrants.
Police earlier responded with a baton charge after
anti-immigrant protestors who had set up a road block threw a
barrage of objects at them in the Casale San Nicola suburb.
Rome prefect Franco Gabrielli had sworn to clear the road
block and ensure the transfer of refugees went ahead as planned.
Other protests at Quinto near Treviso ended after
authorities moved the 101 migrants to a barracks farther away
from the city.
"Instead of giving the mayors and citizens that are
protesting a hard time, prefects should do their job and stop
coddling thousands of illegal immigrants," Salvini said.
"Host them at the prefect's office or at your house, if you
want," he added.
The Northern League has stepped up its campaign against
migrants in recent months. In June, the governor of the northern
region of Lombardy Roberto Maroni told local officials to stop
accepting irregular migrants from other parts of Italy.
A migrant crisis has fuelled political divisions in the
country, which is struggling to emerge from an economic slump
that has thrown many people into unemployment or low-paid work.
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