Italy: Migrant Mob Attacks Military Police, Foils Arrest

The grainy video was posted to the Comitato Quartiere Vasto (the Vasto District Committee) group on Facebook, representing residents living in the Vasto area of central Naples near the Piazza Garibaldi.

The video shows soldiers arresting a man, who looks to be of African descent and is lying on the ground. Others are seen approaching the group and attempting to pull the detained man away. Eventually, two other black men succeed, but the patrol catches up to them and encircle the original suspect, while more onlookers arrive. Somebody is heard shouting, “Do not beat him!”

It is not clear what the man was being arrested for, nor whether he was being abused by the soldiers in any way. Another video taken at the same scene shows no sign of violence towards the soldiers.

The incident has provoked a sharp reaction from local residents.

“Abandoned and betrayed!” wrote Lello Cretella, the user who posted the video. “Episodes like these happen every day in our neighborhood and everyone pretends not to see!”

“We feel alone and abandoned... we fear for us and our families!”