British Police Working to Restore Order in Racial Riot TownBritish police have made a heavy presence in Oldham, a Northern English town near Manchester, on Monday in an attempt to prevent a third night of racial violence and restore order.Police in Oldham said large number of officers will be deployed in the town Monday evening in a bid to stop a repeat of the past two nights' violence as they are "working to calm the situation." Some Asian youths have accused police of heavy-handedness, saying an excessive presence on Sunday helped provoke further violence, but Greater Manchester Police are sticking by their tactics. Assistant Chief Constable Alan Bridge said Sunday's violence had been of a "lower scale" than the widespread violence and disorder on Saturday night and there will be no scale-back on Monday evening. Sunday night saw several flashpoints across the town, with petrol bombs thrown and buildings attacked. An Asian supermarket was set on fire, the offices of a local newspaper firebombed, barricades of furniture and tyres also set ablaze. There were no reports of injuries but seven white youths and five Asian youths were arrested. A group of riot police narrowly escaped injury when a speeding car drove at their lines. The seven officers dived for cover as the car sped off. On Saturday, up to 500 Asian youths battled against lines of riot police. Greater Manchester Police called it "sheer carnage," which left 15 officers and 10 civilians injured. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Blair backed the local police and insisted that the Oldham riots were not typical of the state of British race relations. "I think the vast majority of people want to live together in peace and harmony with one another," he said. |
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