The rioters assembled quietly in Rosengard on Friday after days of violent clashes with police [AFP]

Gangs of youths gathered again late on Friday in the Rosengard district of Malmo, but no serious clashes have taken place as yet.

Protests spilled over into violence on Wednesday after the owner of a building in Rosengard housing an Islamic cultural centre and a mosque chose to use the space for other purposes.

Centre workers moved out peacefully and handed over the keys, but a group of youths decided to camp in the basement.

Police officers were told to remove them, sparking protests and violent clashes.

Garbage bins burnt

While Friday evening has been generally calm, demonstrators set off firecrackers and five cars and several large garbage bins were set on fire, police said.

Much of the rioting was concentrated in Rosengard district - which has a large immigrant population.

Community leaders have appealed for calm, with Montaser Eneim, from Rosengard City District Council said: "They [the rioters] have to stop, they have to take it easy. We can't resolve the problems with violence."

'Unpredictable anger'

The police "think they can appease us by joking with us, but they hassle us all the time, they arrest us for nothing and then  they're surprised that we fight back", said Ahmed Baccar, a 20-year-old unemployed Palestinian.
 
His friend Rached El Ali, an 18-year-old Palestinian, said: "And they hit 11- and 12-year-old kids, set their dogs on us like they did yesterday, and then you want us to like them."

Police reinforcements had been called in from Stockholm, the capital, and Gothenburg to quell the unrest.

Immigrants make up around 14% of the Swedish population but, as suggested by a number of official studies, many face discrimination in housing and employment.

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