Milan police detain hundreds after weekend looting and clashes

Italian police detained 271 young people in Milan on Sunday after stores were looted and bins were set on fire in the city centre. Officers in riot gear used tear gas and water cannon against several hundred hooded protesters during the weekend unrest, according to the latest reports. Reuters

Of those taken to police stations in Milan, 32 were arrested. Luxury shops in the centre closed for fear of further unrest.

Sunday was the second day of confrontations. Police had clashed with protesters the previous day after a cost-of-living march that drew about 5,000 people to central Milan. Sixteen people were arrested after Saturday's clashes, eleven of them minors. RaiNews

In Milan, several hundred people who remained after the march dispersed in Cordusio split into small groups and clashed in Piazza del Duomo. Police reported stone-throwing followed by charges, with people injured and detained. Paper bombs were thrown in the square, barricades were erected around the piazza and its equestrian monument, and the protest moved from the square in front of the station toward surrounding avenues as water cannon were used. Moments of tension were also reported between Via San Prospero and Piazza Cordusio.

Unrest was not limited to Milan. In front of Bologna station, young demonstrators clashed with law enforcement officers. In Piazza Medaglie d'Oro, police used water cannon and tear gas amid dense throwing of stones and objects by youths.

Across Milan and other cities, 43 people were denounced, or referred to prosecutors, and 141 members of the security forces were injured, according to a tally reported on Oct. 18. Sky TG24

Separately, lorry drivers in southern Italy are protesting against high fuel prices. That protest is putting pressure on supply chains in the south, with goods at a standstill. Il Sole 24 Ore