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Reuters

Dutch police have fired warning shots to disperse rioters angered by plans to house asylum-seekers in a small town.
Police in Geldermalsen, near Utrecht, said via their official Twitter account they had “so far made numerous arrests, it's is not clear yet how many”. No serious injuries were reported during Wednesday’s incident.
Videos of the incident showed dozens of youths tearing down fences, throwing beer bottles and fireworks at police, and chanting slogans against the proposed centre for asylum-seekers.
According to national broadcaster NOS, around 2,000 people joined the protest in a town of 27,000.
A meeting of the town's council to decide on whether to build the centre to house 1,500 asylum-seekers had to be halted. A regional broadcaster showed footage of the meeting being evacuated by shouting policemen as rioters sought to force their way into the building.
Police said late on Wednesday that the crowd had still not dispersed, and officers were sporadically being pelted with debris. They said the meeting would not be resumed and called on protesters to leave the town centre.
The incident was the biggest display of anti-migrant sentiment in the Netherlands since hooligans attacked a Syrian refugee centre in October.
Deputy Justice Minister Klaas Dijkhoff, who oversees immigation and asylum policy, called the incident in Geldermalsen “un-Dutch.”
European countries are struggling to cope with the largest movement of migrants since World War Two, many of them Syrians who have come via Turkey, Greece and the Balkans.


Riot erupts in small Dutch town over plans to open a refugee centre 

Police forces stand in front of protestors during a demonstration on December 16, 2015 at a council meeting about plans to open a refugee centre for 1500 refugees in Geldermalsen. / AFP / ANP / Jeroen Jumelet / Netherlands OUT

Police use riot shields on Wednesday to block protesters who were angered by plans to open a centre for 1,500 refugees in the small Dutch town of Geldermalsen. Photo: AFP

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