Firecrackers thrown at Dutch police and firefighters: here’s what went down on NYE

Dutch media report that New Year’s Eve was relatively calm in the lowlands this year, but what does this translate to in practice?

The riot police were called to several locations — primarily because other officers and emergency workers were pelted with firecrackers and other objects, according to the NOS.

In Groningen, the riot police had to give a helping hand to firefighters in action as the rioters were throwing firecrackers at them while they were just, you know, putting out fires. 🙂

A similar thing happened in Rotterdam, where the firefighters had to withdraw for a moment from extinguishing a fire in a school building due to the unrest.

In the capital, thousands gathered at the Dam Square for New Year’s celebrations. Police were called to disperse the crowd — but also here, they were pelted with firecrackers. In Amsterdam Nieuw-West, people were even throwing stones at police officers.

Unrest across the country

It wasn’t just the big cities that experienced unrest, however. In the village of Bovensmilde in Drenthe, rioters resorted to using heavy fireworks and throwing stones. 🧨

In Friesland, the riot police had to intervene at four different locations. They were forced to use tear gas in the village of Buurdaard, where a large group of people threw heavy fireworks at the police and wouldn’t respond to repeated requests by the police to leave. The situation still wasn’t resolved at 5 AM. 😧

In another Frisian village — Tzummarum — rioters were throwing firecrackers and bottles. One officer was injured because an object hit his head.

The south of the Netherlands wasn’t more peaceful than this. In Arnemuiden, Zeeland, the police arrested a number of people after they set things on fire and caused other destruction.

More emergency calls

Dutch emergency services received around 4,600 phone calls last night. This is 10 percent more than on New Year’s Eve of 2020, reports RTL Nieuws.

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Image: PhotographerFromAmsterdam/Depositphotos