Explosion at future Den Bosch asylum shelter; Riot police again intervene in Apeldoorn
An explosive went off at a building in Den Bosch, where the municipality wants to shelter around 50 child asylum seekers. The police investigated the explosion on Sunday evening and found remnants of fireworks and flammable liquid, Omroep Brabant reported. In Apeldoorn, riot police had to break up an anti-asylum protest for the third consecutive night.
The explosion in Den Bosch occurred sometime over the weekend. A passerby noticed the damage on Sunday evening and called the police, a spokesperson told Omroep Brabant. The explosion shattered a window of the building on De Beverspijken, a former police station on the De Vutter business park on the border between Engelen and Den Bosch.
In early April, the municipality of Den Bosch announced that it intended to open an asylum shelter for approximately 50 children in the building. The announcement was met with multiple protests, including one in which demonstrators blocked the highway.
Apeldoorn residents are also protesting against a planned asylum shelter. Apeldoorn wants to temporarily shelter around 240 asylum seekers in a partially vacant school building. On Sunday, the riot police broke up a protest for the third night in a row, making multiple arrests, Omroep Gelderland reported.
The municipality had permitted the demonstration until 8:00 p.m. But when that time arrived, a portion of the protesters refused to leave, and the riot police took action.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, the riot police also broke up anti-asylum demonstrations in Apeldoorn. On both evenings, protesters threw fireworks at police officers. The police arrested six people on Friday and 26 people on Saturday.
The municipality of Apeldoorn said on its website that it understands the protesters’ concerns, but their rioting and attacks on the police are also causing feelings of fear and insecurity in the neighborhood. The municipality invited the protesters to enter into a dialogue to explore where their demonstrations can be held safely, without obstructing traffic or setting off fireworks.
