Italy police to protect Gypsies

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

There is deep suspicion in Italy of the Roma community

Italian police are being forced to protect Roma Gypsies who have come under attack from local residents in Naples two nights running.

Makeshift homes were set alight as demonstrators attacked two camps. The disturbance was sparked by an alleged kidnap attempt by a Roma teenager.

There is deep suspicion throughout the country of the Roma community.

The government is preparing controversial anti-immigration measures targeting Romanians in particular.

The incidents in Naples began when a 16-year-old Roma girl was caught inside an apartment last weekend, allegedly trying to steal a six-month-old baby girl.

Her arrest has sparked two days of bitter protests.

On Wednesday night, vigilante groups in the suburb of Ponticelli took to the streets chasing the Roma out of two squatter camps.

Molotov cocktails were thrown into makeshift huts as the Roma fled for the local police station. When they had gone, the two camps were torched.

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