Irishman deported after riots

AN Irishman was among a host of foreigners expelled from Denmark this weekend for their part in the worst riots the country has seen in a decade.

The unidentified man was arrested after the first wave of rioting swept across the capital city of Copenhagen on Friday.

He was detained and was deported along with dozens of other foreigners. As a citizen of the European Union he is free to return to Denmark at any stage.

Local authorities estimate they have arrested in excess of 600 people throughout the weekend.

During that time a school has been vandalised, cars were set alight and petrol bombs were thrown at police. At least three protesters and one policeman have been injured.

Last night as many as 200 marchers continued to defy police efforts to calm tensions in the city.

According to websites run by protesting groups they are communicating via text message and assembling at different locations.

The latest trouble flared up in the hippie enclave of Christiania.

However, police spokesman Lars Borg said the extreme levels of violence had abated.

“We are very happy that the situation was so quiet. The people who want to demonstrate have been more aware that the things they are doing are not the right things to do.”

The riots broke out on Friday after officials in Copenhagen attempted to evict squatters from a city youth centre.

The building was originally lent to the youth group in 1982 but was sold to a religious group in 2000.

Throughout the weekend protesters have assembled in different locations around the city to engage in violent exchanges with police.

A large number of foreigners have been blamed for adding impetus to the riots.

Of 100 arrests made earlier on Saturday more than half were not from Denmark.

They included Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, Italians, British, Spaniards and the one Irishman.

Copenhagen was brought to a standstill in 1993 by riots which caused police to fire into the crowd.