Saint-Sylvestre : incidents au Pays-Bas – 1 janvier 2012

Arrests, injuries, and car fires during New Year festivities

dutchnews.nl

Sunday 01 January 2012

Hundreds of people were arrested during the New Year festivities in the Netherlands, but it was quieter than previous years, police chiefs said on Sunday.

In Amsterdam, 123 people were picked up, mainly for vandalism and public drunkenness. In the Rotterdam region there were at least 99 arrests and in Utrecht 47.

One person was killed in a stabbing incident in the village of Sint Oedenrode, Noord Brabant. There were several arrests news agency ANP said. And in Zoetermeer there were 14 arrests as a gang of youths threw Molotov cocktails at police.

In The Hague, riot police were called in to restore order in the Ypenburg district, but mayor Jozias van Aartsen said it was the quietest New Year celebrations in the city in four years. Nevertheless, some 80 cars were set on fire in The Hague and its surrounding towns, the Telegraaf reported.

In Utrecht, at least 17 cars were set on fire and in Amsterdam four cars and two lorries went up in flames. Read more…