Around 100 immigrant squatters
evicted Saturday from a building in Rome's central Piazza
Indipendenza on Thursday scuffled with police who cleared them
from the square.
The immigrants threw rocks, bottle and gas tanks at police
who were trying to move them out of gardens in the square.
Two immigrants were arrested.
One of them was arrested as he was giving an interview to La7
TV. The incident spurred cries of "shame, shame" from other
immigrants.
The vast majority of the immigrants are Eritreans, who have
fled harsh living conditions and duress in the army where they
were forced to enlist.
Fire hydrants were used against the immigrants evicted as
women kneeled on the ground and raised their arms to stop being
removed, crying "shame".
One woman fell to the ground and was slightly hurt.
After the clashes with police, the immigrants dispersed into
streets adjacent to the nearby Termini central rail station.
Rome Prefect Paolo Basilone congratulated the police on their
"hard work", saying that "legality has been restored to the
square".
Anti-immigrant Northern League leader Matteo Salvini lauded
the police operation.
"Bottles and rocks against the police this morning at dawn by
100 or so immigrants illegally camped out in the gardens of
Piazza Indipendenza in Rome," Salvini said on Facebook.
"Come on boys, evictions, order, cleanliness and
deportations! The Italians are with you."
The chair of the Senate human rights committee, Luigi Manconi
of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD), on Thursday
criticised what he said was Rome city council's "neglect" of an
immigrant housing issue that led to the scuffles.
"For the second day running, the police has intervened to
clear a building that for years has hosted hundreds of Eritrean
refugees, in Rome's Via Curtatone," Manconi said.
"As it was easy to foresee, considering the absence of any
alternative proposal and the irresponsible neglect by the city
administration, the case has caused violence and left people
injured".
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