More than 40 rioters have been arrested after violent clashes broke out in Sweden between police and protesters furious over a far right group’s plan to burn copies of the Quran, BBC News reported.
The worst of the clashes occurred in Norrkoping on Sunday, causing police to fire warning shots at the rioting crowd, leading to three injuries.
Earlier, Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan held several rallies in which he announced that he had burned a copy of the Quran and wished to do so again.
The Swedish national police chief, Anders Thornberg, described the riots in the city 99 miles southwest of Stockholm as the worst he had ever seen.
Other riots occurred in Sweden on Friday and Saturday in the Stockholm suburbs and in Malmo.
Police said in a statement on Monday that 26 police officers and 14 members of the public had been injured in the clashes, with over 20 damaged vehicles. The violence was perpetrated by around 200 people, they added.
The rioting occurred on Sunday in Norrkoping ahead of a scheduled appearance by Paludan. But he never made it to the rally. Through his far right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), he said he cancelled because Swedish law enforcement has "shown that they are completely incapable of protecting themselves and me."
On Thursday, Paludan appeared in Jonkoping, talking into a megaphone while holding a Quran. But his speech was silenced by a priest ringing a local church’s bells.