Italy to send 500 troops to Milan after two days of unrest
Italy's government will deploy 500 army troops to Milan after demonstrators clashed with police and looted shops. The move is expected to be part of a security package due for approval on Tuesday.
Italy's government will send 500 army troops to Milan, the country's financial capital, after two days of unrest in which demonstrators clashed with police, looted shops and vandalised property. Deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the co-ruling right-wing League party, announced the deployment on Monday. It is expected to be included in a package of security measures that the cabinet could approve on Tuesday.
Salvini wrote on social media: "From words to action: 500 more troops to defend Milan."
How the unrest unfolded
An initially peaceful demonstration on Saturday over poor public services and rising costs turned violent. Several hundred hooded protesters, many believed to be minors, set bins ablaze and looted shops in the city centre. Television footage showed sports retailers Decathlon and Arc'teryx and mobile operator Vodafone among the stores ransacked. Levi's, Under Armour and Decathlon covered their windows with cardboard and wooden panels.
On Monday, most stores on Via Montenapoleone, Milan's luxury shopping street home to Chanel, Tiffany and Dior, closed early and removed merchandise from their windows. Police patrolled the street.
Detentions
Police said they detained 271 young people in Milan on Sunday. Of those taken to police stations, 32 were arrested, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals. A further 28 people were reported to judicial authorities. On Saturday, unrest also hit Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin, where 28 protesters were arrested.
Government response
Prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who faces a national election next year, condemned the violence and chaired a meeting with ministers and security chiefs on Monday. Foreign minister and deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani said the government would respond firmly, including with measures to curb violence by minors. The newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that Meloni is considering extending preventive detention for minors and cracking down on youth gangs.
The disturbances echo unrest in neighbouring France, where hundreds of thousands of people angered by rising living costs and declining public services took to the streets on Saturday in some of the country's most violent protests in years.
