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Deaths of 3 Asian men in riot raise race tensions

10 August 2011 19:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The deaths of three men early Wednesday in the English midland city of Birmingham during widespread rioting has raised fears of a breakout of racial conflict, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Police have made an arrest in their investigation into the deaths and treated it as a murder inquiry.

The three men were killed after they were hit by a high-speed car driven at them along the pavement when they and a group of other members of their local muslim community gathered on the street to protect homes and property from rioters.

All three men later died at a local hospital, police said, where they were taken for treatment.

Local media quoted a family member of one dead, saying they had been killed in a "racist attack," and an eyewitness was reported as saying that three cars were seen in the area just before the incident containing young black men.

Police said the incident took place at about 1 a.m. in the Winson Green area of the city Birmingham, and that a 32-year-old man had been arrested.

Police had made 109 arrests across the West Midlands, in the city of Wolverhampton and the town of West Bromwich as well as Birmingham, during widespread riots on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday, in which shops were looted, property damage and cars set alight.

Elsewhere, Home secretary Theresa May said she had ordered all police forces to cancel leave for officers, to call up all special constables, and to use tougher tactics on the rioters.

"I ordered that all special constables should be mobilized, all police leave should be canceled and the robust tactics used on Tuesday by the Metropolitan Police adopted by all forces dealing with public disorder," May said following a conference call with chief officers from forces across Britain.

Other police forces in cities and towns across England will be on the alert to counter a repeat of Tuesdayâ€™s rioting, which saw violence break out in cities in the north west, the midlands and the west.