Less unrest on fourth night of curfew; 131 arrested
Update 10:30 a.m. - A total of 131 people were arrested throughout the Netherlands on Tuesday evening, including 81 in Rotterdam. The majority of suspects were below the age of 25, the police said on Wednesday morning. They are mainly suspected of public violence and incitement.
Tuesday night was again a tense one in the Netherlands due to fears of riots against the coronavirus curfew. Dozens of municipalities took extra measures and police were on the streets en masse. And with effect. Most cities were relatively quiet, with the riot police only intervening in various places in Rotterdam and in Amsterdam's Osdorp district, NU.nl and NOS report.
A total of 81 people were arrested in the center of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Zuid and Rotterdam West. They're accused of illegal gathering, vandalism, and violation of the curfew, among other things. Police were on the streets en masse after major riots on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Rotterdam police told Rijnmond that the maximum police deployment resulted in a calmer night. "We started warning from the start, were were in contact with everyone. The riot police were always nearby, in the shadow of the colleagues on the street. They could intervene immediately if necessary and that happened in three places."
In Osdorp in Amsterdam, the riot police carried out charges to disperse a large group of young men and teenage boys who had gathered and were setting off fireworks. Most of the rioters slipped away after that and peace returned.
Eleven people were arrested early in the evening in Gouda. After that, there were no disturbances in the city.
In Breda, the police arrested a total of six people and reported only a handful of minor disturbances.
In Hilversum, a group of people gathered on the market area in the city center. But they left peacefully after the police told them to go.
Police chief Willem Woelders told Nieuwsuur that Tuesday night looked a lot different from the day before. According to him, young people gathered on the streets in several cities, but the police did not have to take serious action. "We were quickly on top of it and spoke to them," he said.
Several municipalities announced earlier on Tuesday that they were taking extra measures against rioting. Emergency decrees were issued in Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Haarlem, Breda, Maastricht, Leiden, Sittard-Geleen, Beek, Zaltbommel, Stein, Echt-Susteren, Almelo, Oosterhout, and Capelle aan den IJssel.
