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Firemen extinguish burning cars in the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby on May 23, 2013. (Scanpix/AFP, Fredrik Sandberg)
By Sören Billing (AFP) - At least six cars were torched in Stockholm Thursday evening as police called in reinforcements bracing for a fifth night of riots in the Swedish capital's immigrant-dominated suburbs.
The riots, which have shattered Sweden's image abroad as a peaceful and egalitarian nation, have sparked a debate in Sweden 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.
Police said Thursday they would be calling in reinforcements from other parts of the country as they braced for more trouble in coming days.
In Rinkeby, one of the city's immigrant-dominated areas, firefighters rushed late Thursday 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 an AFP photographer on the scene.
Police said between 300 and 500 people were gathered around the blazing cars.
Firefighters meanwhile said a school in another immigrant-heavy...