ANGRY RIOT IN NAPLES

Press, Volume C, Issue 29435, 10 February 1961, Page 13

ANGRY RIOT IN NAPLES

Buses Burnt, 68 Hurt (S2. Press Assn.—Copyright) (Rec. 10 p.m.) NAPLES. Feb. 9. Reinforced police patrols stood guard in Naples today after a night of furious rioting by 4000 angry workers without transport home because of a sudden strike. Police said 68 were injured in the four-hour clash that ended only after armoured cars and army units joined the police in an assault on the mob. Police said 107 persons were taken into custody. Shop windows and cinema fronts were smashed. The Naples tram station was all but destroyed by fire. Flames also made smouldering skeletons out of 11 buses, trolley buses and trams, and a police van. With a large part of the business section of Naples looking like a battlefield, steel-helmeted riot police kept a careful watch to prevent any new disorders. Crowd of 20,000 A 24-hour pay strike of bus and tram men serving Naples suburbs was supposed to end at 4.30 p.m. But at 7.30 p.m., when offices and shops closed, homewardbound crowds found the buses and trams were still not running. A crowd of 20.000 milled about in the square, waiting to go home. Suddenly, a group of young men turned their fury on the vehicles.

Using Molotov cocktails—bottles filled with petrol—the crowd set fire to the terminus, buses, trams and a police van. Fighting police all along the ■way, the crowd surged along the Corso Garibaldi, one of Naples' main avenues, stoning and damaging shops and cinemas. -