White Brits attacked
Authorities arrested 90 people after racially charged violenceerupted between a group protesting Islamic extremism andcounter-demonstrators in the central English city of Birmingham, policesaid Sunday.
The clashes erupted Saturday when a rally by theEnglish Defense League ran into counter-demonstrators includinganti-fascists and youths of South Asian descent, West Midlands Policesaid.
About 200 people were involved in the clashes in downtown Birmingham, police said.
Televisionfootage showed masked or hooded youths throwing projectiles and runningfrom riot police through the diverse city’s downtown area.
Policesaid the 90 people detained – all males aged 16 to 39 – were arrestedon suspicion of criminal damage and violent disorder.
It was not immediately clear how many were protesters and how many were counter-demonstrators.
Clashesalso erupted last month at a similar demonstration in Birmingham, adiverse city of about 1 million where nearly a third of the populationis nonwhite.
The English Defense League blamescounter-demonstrators for inciting violence at its rallies. It hasplanned protest marches in other cities, including one next month inManchester.