Protesters in the Netherlands Allegedly Light Immigration Asylum Center on Fire

Protesters in The Netherlands allegedly set fire to an asylum center Tuesday and attacked firefighters amid waves of ongoing anti-asylum protests across the country, prompting arrests on suspicion of arson and other charges from authorities.

The 300–400 protesters allegedly threw torches and fireworks at the disused town hall in the town of Loosdrecht in North Holland, setting fire to the shrubs and trees against the wall of the building Tuesday evening just as more asylum seekers arrived to join the 15 asylum seekers and staff already in the building, DutchNews.nl reported.

The protesters also allegedly pelted officers and momentarily prevented firefighters, according to the outlet.

Officers reportedly arrested several of the protesters, accusing them of arson and disorder.

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Loosdrecht authorities had initially planned to accommodate 110 asylum seekers but lowered the target to 70 following weeks of restiveness, according to DutchNews.nl. The authorities reportedly planned to house the 70 in a section of the council hall for six months but did not announce the plan to the public because of the protests.

Similar demonstrations have broken out across The Netherlands across the weekend. The municipality of Apeldoorn saw three nights of riots on the trot as protesters showed their displeasure at plans to shelter 240 refugees in an empty school building by allegedly pelting police with fireworks and obstructing traffic, among other acts, the outlet separately reported.

A building in the city of Den Bosch reportedly intended to shelter 50 unaccompanied adolescent male and female refugees aged between 15 and 18 years, reportedly became the target of an explosion.

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