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UK race riots shock police

riot police
Hundreds of police confronted the rioters  


OLDHAM, England -- Bricks and burned-out cars litter the streets of a British town following one of the country's worst outbreaks of racial violence in years.

At the height of the clashes in Oldham, north-west England, around 500 Asian youths armed with petrol bombs and bricks attacked a pub, torched cars and fought with hundreds of police officers in riot gear.

Chief Superintendent Eric Hewitt said he was shocked by the "ferocity and sheer carnage" of the rioting, which raged for seven hours on Saturday night.

Officers in riot gear, carrying full-length shields, fought back, charging the mob and pulling individuals from the crowd.

Police said four shots were fired and a handgun, later revealed to be blank-firing, was recovered.

Fifteen officers suffered minor injuries in the riots and 17 people were arrested for public order offences, Greater Manchester Police said. The Associated Press reported that at least five other people were also hurt.

Daylight and rain dispersed crowds on Sunday morning, and the main street in the Glodwick area -- home to the town's main Asian community -- remained closed as police and residents began sweeping up glass and bricks.

Racial tension has been simmering in Glodwick and it is believed that the riots were sparked by an attack by white youths on houses belonging to Asians earlier in the evening. Four people were arrested in connection with that incident.

Soon afterwards, a gang of around 100 Asians twice attacked the Live And Let Live pub.

Pub landlord Paul Barrow said Asian youths first burst through the door at about 9 p.m. leaving him and 40 customers trapped inside overnight.

"The first of them got through the door and attacked the customers with whatever they could get their hands on, bottles, stools and glasses," said Barrow.

"The majority of the customers had gone through to my living quarters in the back."

At around 11 p.m. a mob returned hurling petrol bombs and bricks at the windows.

Barrow said there was "no indication" of what the trouble was about.

"Asians were in the pub when it was targeted. There are a group of Asians who come in to play pool, about 12 of them. When they found out what was happening in the pub, they felt sick. I have never seen the likes of this before and I never want to see it again."

Live and Let Live regular Kenneth Berry said: "It was real chaos, it was frightening to be in the pub."

He added: "There were ladies in their 60s, they were hysterical because they didn't know what was going on."

Ashid Ali, leader of the Bangladesh Youth Association, said the incident was the result of increased tensions because of provocative actions by ultra-right-wing National Front.

"It's very difficult to control a crowd when there's so much anger and distress. We don't want a repeat of yesterday ever again in Oldham.

"They (the rioters) were not after the police."

He claimed that in recent weeks National Front members and sympathisers had visited predominantly Asian areas and caused trouble. A number of Asian shops had also had their windows smashed.

"They tend to hold their meetings in the pubs and play cat and mouse with the youths, so pubs unfortunately have become a target."

On May 5, 16 people were arrested when the National Front party defied a ban on political marches, imposed by Home Secretary Jack Straw because of racial tensions.

Oldham, which has a large ethnic minority population, hit the headlines in Britain earlier this year when a white pensioner said he had been attacked by a gang of Asian youths.

A 15-year-old Asian boy was later charged with racially-motivated assault.








RELATED SITE:
• Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

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