Riot police intervene as car fires hit towns across the country

Riot police moved into the Floradorp district of Amsterdam-Noord on Saturday evening after multiple fires were set in the neighbourhood and groups of youngsters threw fireworks at officers.

The unrest coincided with a night in which vehicles were set alight at several locations across the Netherlands, including Rotterdam, Utrecht, Den Bosch, Emmen and Smilde.

In Floradorp, where residents have been banned from holding their traditional Christmas tree bonfire, people set fire to rubbish and discarded household appliances at various locations.

The situation escalated when youngsters began targeting police with fireworks, prompting the deployment of a riot police unit. Officers sealed off streets and ordered bystanders to leave. No arrests were made and no injuries were reported.

Police and firefighters stayed in the area throughout the evening as small groups moved around the neighbourhood, reigniting fires as soon as emergency services pulled back.

Elsewhere in the country, groups of youngsters also set vehicles on fire. In Utrecht, a car burned out late on Saturday evening in the Overvecht district. In Smilde, a van was set alight at a crossroads shortly after midnight, marking the third such incident in the Drenthe village in a short period.

In Emmen, a car burned out in a roadside verge in the Emmerhout district at around 4am, following another car fire in the town on Friday evening.

In Rotterdam, two separate incidents were reported. In Delfshaven, a taxi and two passenger cars were set on fire, destroying two of the vehicles and badly damaging the third.

In Den Bosch, a truck parked on an industrial estate on the edge of the city was also destroyed by fire. A similar truck fire was reported at the same location about a month ago.

Police are investigating all the incidents.