Race war hits Italian town, four Africans shot

LONDON - White residents have shot four African migrants and beaten two others with iron bars in a southern Italian town that has been in the grip of a massive racial unrest for two days, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Two migrant workers were shot and two more beaten with iron bars Friday night while another two were wounded in a shooting Thursday night in the town of Rosarno, The Guardian reported.

The paper said the shootings took place in an unoccupied factory used as sleeping quarters by workers from sub-Saharan Africa.

The victims were hit and injured with pellets from an air rifle or pistol in drive-by shootings.

It said about 100 locals, armed with iron bars and wooden staves, have erected roadblocks close to another building where immigrant farm workers live.

Following the first shooting, more than 100 immigrants marched through the town Thursday night, smashing car windows with steels bars, setting rubbish bins and cars on fire, and clashing with police in riot gear.

Another demonstration Friday saw some 2,000 immigrants protest in front of the town hall with shouts of “We are not animals” and carrying signs reading “Italians here are racist.”

Thirty-seven people, including police, have been injured following clashes. Seven people have been arrested.

The Guardian said the riot began as a protest against the insecure conditions in which immigrants find themselves.