Dozens injured during protests against "Quran burning" in Sweden

The Swedish police announced on Monday that 26 of its members and 14 civilians were injured in recent days during violent clashes with demonstrators protesting against gatherings of an extremist right-wing movement that used to burn copies of the Holy Quran.

"In some cases, this amounted to attempted murder, and in all cases there was a serious assault on law enforcement authorities," Swedish police chief Anders Thornberg told a press conference.

The official did not explain the severity of the injuries, but the local press confirmed that they were minor.

The demonstrations took place in protest against the far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, who intends to run for the Swedish legislative elections in September, but he has not yet succeeded in collecting the necessary signatures, and he is currently on a tour in Sweden, where he visits the neighborhoods inhabited by a high percentage of Muslims to burn copies of the Holy Quran.

The first clashes took place Thursday in Linköping and Norrkoping in the south, the first two stops of the anti-immigration and anti-Islam "Straamcourse" movement led by Baludan, who holds Danish and Swedish citizenship.

Baludan then headed to Örebro in the center, then to the outskirts of Stockholm, and finally to Malmö in the south, before announcing new gatherings Sunday in Linköping and Norrkoping, which were later canceled.

The police chief added in the press conference: "Some elements took advantage of the situation to practice violence, and this has nothing to do with the demonstrations," calling for more capabilities for the security forces.

And he added: "Our number is very few. Our numbers are increasing, but not at the same rate as the problems within society."

Yesterday, clashes broke out with the police, during which stones were thrown and cars were burned, which led to the arrest of 26 people in Norrkoping and Linköping.

Police announced that three protesters were shot during the incident, which they classified as "riots".

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