Sweden protest;Unrest spreads beyond Stockholm, the capital city

A burned-out van is prepared for removal after youths rioted in Husby, northern Stockholm on May 21,

Unrest has spread beyond Sweden’s capital Stockholm, with the protesters setting ablaze vehicles and buildings in two other Swedish towns.

Police said that the protesters set a school and several cars ablaze in the town of Oerebro, 160 kilometers west of the capital on Friday.

An empty building was also set on fire in the town of Sodertalje just outside Stockholm.

Meanwhile, cars have been torched in several immigrant-dominated suburbs on the sixth consecutive night of violence in the capital, forcing police to ask for reinforcements from Gothenburg and Malmoe.

The United States and Britain have warned their citizens in Sweden to stay away from the affected areas.

The protests in Sweden began on May 19, six days after police shot dead a 69-year-old man, who had locked himself in an apartment in Husby, a poor district in western Stockholm.

Rights activists and local residents say the incident sparked anger among youths in the district, who claim the government discriminates against them.

The riots in one of Europe’s richest capitals have shocked a country that prides itself on a reputation for social justice, fueling a debate about how Sweden is coping with both youth unemployment and an influx of immigrants.