Italy deploys troops to ‘defend Milan’ from looting

Italy deploys troops to 'defend Milan' from looting amid youth protests

The full report

Demonstrations over poor public services and rising costs spiralled over the weekend in Milan, Italy, with shops looted and property vandalised. The unrest led to the deployment of 500 army troops to 'defend Milan', according to deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini.

The deployment is expected to be included in a package of security measures to be approved at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Shops in central Milan closed early and boarded up their windows, fearing a fresh outbreak of violence in Italy's financial capital.

Several hundred hooded protesters, many believed to be minors, set bins ablaze and looted shops in the city centre over the weekend. Among the stores ransacked were sports retailers Decathlon and Arc'teryx, and mobile phone operator Vodafone, television footage showed.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence and chaired a meeting with ministers and security chiefs on Monday to discuss the situation. The government plans to respond firmly to the attacks, including through measures aimed at curbing violence by minors.

As part of the planned crackdown, the government is considering extending preventive detention for minors and cracking down on youth gangs. The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that Meloni was also considering bringing forward some provisions contained in an existing security bill currently being examined by parliament.

The unrest in Milan followed clashes on Saturday in other northern cities, including Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo, and Turin, where 28 protesters were arrested, according to a police report released on Sunday. The disturbances echoed unrest in neighbouring France, where hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday in some of the country's most violent protests in years.