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Treviso homeowners burn migrants' furniture

The Local Italy
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Treviso homeowners burn migrants' furniture
The damage wrought by protesters. Photo: Luca Zaia/Facebook

Angry homeowners in Treviso set fire to mattresses and flat-screen TVs from migrants’ homes after more than 100 were moved into their apartment buildings by the local authorities.

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Furious to find the apartments were fully kitted out with furniture and the latest mod-cons, the residents of two apartment buildings in the Quinto di Treviso area of the city removed the items and burnt them in the street, Corriere del Veneto reported.

Some people mounted tents outside, refusing to sleep under the same roof as the 101 migrants who started to move in on Wednesday, while others stopped food supplies from reaching the newly inserted community.

The buildings contain the privately-owned apartments of some ten Italian families, who are furious at a decision by the local authorities to move the migrants in.

As Italy struggles under the weight of the migrant influx, and as reception centres become full beyond capacity, the government has called on leaders across the country to find much-needed housing, a request that has sparked revolt, especially in the north.

“They have transformed our homes, which we paid for with our mortgages, into a refugee camp,” one resident told Corriere del Veneto.

Luca Zaia, the far-right president of the Veneto region who is opposed to his region housing more migrants, showed his support for the protesters, describing the mayhem as “the Africanization of Veneto”.

“They have been sleeping here [in the Veneto region] for four years,” Corriere reported him as saying.

"The government shouldn't send us any more refugees...we don't agree with this violence but we are here and will protest to the end.”

The leader of the Northern League, Matteo Salvini, also expressed his solidarity with the families.

“The immigrants need to go away,” he said. “But let's be clear: we don't endorse any kind of violence.”

Salvini is expected to visit Quinto di Treviso this weekend, while also visiting the areas of his party's stronghold damaged by a tornado last week.

Treviso prefect, Maria Augusta Marrosu, said: "They are staying, because they don't have the choice." 

Graffiti sprayed on the side of a building in Quinto in large red letters said: "Prefect Marrosu, take them home."

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