Cars, schools torched in fifth night of Stockholm riots

STOCKHOLM (CIHAN)- More than a dozen cars were torched and schools, shops and a police station were set ablaze as riots swept through Stockholm's immigrant-dominated suburbs for the fifth straight night, police and firefighters said Friday.

The riots, which have shattered Sweden's image abroad as a peaceful and egalitarian nation, have sparked a debate about the assimilation of immigrants, who make up about 15 percent of the population.

Many of the immigrants who have arrived due to the country's generous refugee policy struggle to learn the language and find employment, despite numerous government programmes.

Firefighters were dispatched to 70 different locations in greater Stockholm overnight, extinguishing torched cars, shipping containers and buildings, including three schools, the fire department wrote on Twitter.

That was calmer than the previous night, when they handled 90 incidents, and police spokesman Kjell Lindgren said the riots had "decreased in intensity".

He said 13 people had been arrested, between the ages of 17 and 26, but no injuries were reported.

In Rinkeby, one of the city's immigrant-dominated areas, firefighters rushed to put out flames that engulfed six cars parked alongside each other. Five cars were totally gutted, and one sustained more moderate damage, according to...