Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,
A fire was started in bushes outside an asylum center in the Dutch town of Loosdrecht on Tuesday evening, prompting a major police response after weeks of local protests against the facility.
Protesters threw flares and fireworks onto the grounds of the building, which is located at the town hall on De Rading.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show rioters initially blocking firefighters from reaching the blaze.
After Mayor Mark Verheijen of Wijdemeren issued an emergency order, riot police intervened, and firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire.
One person has so far been arrested on suspicion of arson and is awaiting questioning, De Telegraaf reported, citing a police source.
The fire came on the same day the first asylum seekers arrived at the temporary shelter, with 70 migrants expected to stay at the facility.
The project has been the focus of fierce local opposition for weeks. Loosdrecht, a town of around 8,000 people, had originally been set to receive 110 asylum seekers, but officials scaled the plan back to 70 after days of mass protests.
The opening of the center had also been delayed after officials said they could not guarantee the safety of the asylum seekers.
Local residents have argued that their own concerns about safety have been ignored. Last month, hundreds of women marched through the town carrying a banner that read, “Does our safety not matter anymore?”
Ongehoord Nederland TV reported on Tuesday that the first asylum seekers were due to move into the accommodation that day, which had prompted a large demonstration outside the building.
“In Loosdrecht, the first asylum seekers were housed today. The residents are seriously concerned about what consequences this will have for their safety. That is why they are gathering en masse tonight to demonstrate,” the broadcaster wrote.
After the fire started, residents at the scene told the broadcaster’s reporter, “We’re fed up with it, we haven’t been heard. This isn’t a democracy.”
The local mayor condemned the scenes, claiming it to be a deliberate attack on vulnerable people.
“A line has been crossed,” Verheijen said. “You may disagree with democratically made decisions, but you do so with words, not with fireworks and violence.”
Protesters argue that the decision has been anything but democratic and that their words have fallen on deaf ears.
Loosdrecht has been a melting pot for some time. The latest unrest follows earlier clashes between protesters and police, including footage that circulated on social media showing officers using baton charges against demonstrators. At least one protester was filmed last month lying unconscious on the pavement.
Former MEP Robert Roos previously criticized the police action, writing on X, “A baton may only be used in cases of necessity, proportionately, and aimed at less vulnerable areas (arms/legs). Striking someone until they are unconscious raises serious questions: was there really acute danger, or has the boundary been crossed here?”