After Milan riots, Meloni sends 500 soldiers; new decree due today
After two days of clashes in Milan, Italy's government is stepping up the military presence in the city. The cabinet discusses a decree against "urban guerrilla" violence today.
Archive image · Photo: Steffen Schmitz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Italy's government is sending 500 additional soldiers to Milan after the weekend's riots. The decision was taken at an extraordinary security meeting called by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday, according to Defence Undersecretary Isabella Rauti, who is responsible for the "Strade sicure" (Safe Streets) operation. "We prefer concrete and determined decisions to the sterile rhetoric of announcements," she said. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the new rules would allow soldiers to act like police forces for the next three months.
The cabinet is due to discuss a new decree-law against violence and "urban guerrilla" tactics today (Tuesday). In Milan, more than 200 people have been arrested since Saturday, according to the ANSA news agency. Mostly black-clad assailants threw bottles, ransacked shops and destroyed property around the Duomo square. There were also disturbances in Bologna and Turin.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said he had seen "smashed shop windows, looted stores and frightened citizens" and said he was "very worried because it's a new phenomenon". Meloni called the vandals "thugs who exploit demonstrations to spread chaos, attack those who guarantee security, and hold entire cities hostage".