with video
A fire broke out at the reception location for asylum seekers in Loosdrecht on Tuesday evening after demonstrators threw torches. The rioters then stopped two fire trucks.
The mayor issued an emergency order due to the ‘serious disturbances’. At that moment there was a group of fifteen people inside, both residents and employees.
Protesters threw flares and fireworks onto the grounds of the building on Tuesday evening. The hedges just in front of the building then caught fire, causing flames that were meters high. The fire brigade was able to extinguish the fires after the police helped them get there.
The police Mobile Unit (ME) was called in to get the demonstrators and rioters away from the town hall. It was quiet on the streets around 11 p.m., but there were still more than ten riot vans present.
Several rioters have been arrested. Most vans have now left. Officers and security guards can still be seen at the reception location.
Earlier in the day, the first asylum seekers had arrived in Loosdrecht. The exact time at which this would happen was kept secret by the municipality, ‘for the sake of privacy and security’. Late Tuesday evening it was reported that the residents and employees were unharmed.
In response, acting mayor Mark Verheijen says that ‘a line’ has been crossed. “This was a targeted action against vulnerable people. This goes against everything we stand for as the Netherlands. You may disagree with democratically taken decisions, but you do so with words and not with fireworks and violence.”
He states that the safety ‘of people’ has been endangered. “And I strictly guard that border.”
Extremist organizations
It has been restless in Loosdrecht in recent weeks. There have been several demonstrations against the decision of the municipality of Wijdemeren to open an emergency shelter in the town hall. Ultimately, seventy asylum seekers must be accommodated for a maximum of six months. Extremist organizations joined the protests.
It was also restless in Apeldoorn on Tuesday evening, again at a protest against an emergency shelter. Five people were arrested for setting off fireworks.
