The third city of Sweden, Malmö (south), was the scene of violence in the night from Saturday to Sunday, following rallies denouncing a far-right group which burned a Koran, announced Sunday the police.

Fires occurred at various locations overnight, law enforcement said in a statement.

In particular, garbage cans, a bus and a car were burned, it is specified.

Nearly 20 complaints, in particular for vandalism, have been filed.

A few people were lightly injured, police added. 

The day after a "Hard Line" rally

The incidents erupted after a rally on Saturday by the anti-immigration and anti-Islam "Hardline" movement, led by Danish-Swedish Rasmus Paludan.

His gathering had been moved from a district of Landskrona to a parking lot in Malmö, the neighboring big city, in order to avoid overflows, but a car tried to break through the protective barriers.

The driver was arrested.

Protests then broke out in different parts of Malmö, with stones and Molotov cocktails thrown at the police.

"It calmed down around 3 a.m., there were a few fires but the violence subsided," police spokeswoman Kim Hild told public radio SR, adding that no member of the law enforcement officers were not injured.

"Sometimes social anxiety is contagious," Malmö police chief Petra Stenkula told reporters, saying the events of the previous days could have served as a "trigger".

Rasmus Paludan's tour that sets fire to the powder

Rasmus Paludan is currently organizing a tour in Sweden which has generated several clashes between the police and counter-protesters in several cities of the country in recent days.

On Thursday and Friday, around 12 police officers were injured in the clashes.

Following these events, Iraqi diplomacy announced in a press release that it had summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires on Sunday.

She believes that letting far-right supporters demonstrate who want to burn a copy of the Koran is an act "provocative for the feelings of Muslims and offensive for what is sacred to them".

And she warns of the “serious repercussions” of this affair on “relations between Sweden and Muslims in general, whether in Muslim or Arab countries, or in Muslim communities in Europe”.

Rasmus Paludan has indicated his desire to demonstrate again in two cities in Sweden, but his rallies have not received police approval.

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