Waste violence strikes Sardinia

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Police have clashed with Sardinian residents angered by the delivery of 500 tonnes of rubbish to the island.

On Thursday, a cargo boat laden with waste docked at a Sardinian port as Romano Prodi attempted to reduce a growing crisis in the Naples region.

Sardinia was the first area to answer the prime minister's call to take on some of the 100,000 tonnes of waste that have been festering in Naples.

But protesters gathered at the port of Cagliari to prevent the ship unloading.

We were called out 25 times to put out fires in 48 (garbage containers) and three burning cars Sardinian fire chief Silvio Saffioti Dozens scuffled with police and staged a sit-in protest at the port while a small contingent tried to storm the ship.

"We were called out 25 times to put out fires in 48 garbage containers and three burning cars," said Silvio Saffioti, the head of the fire brigade in Cagliari, Sardinia's capital.

Further protests were held by residents and opposition politicians at the waste disposal plant for which the rubbish was destined.

Burning cars and bins

Refuse collection in Naples ground to a halt before Christmas after dumps in the area were declared full.

The Interior Ministry says 'hooligan gangs' are operating in Pianura

Local groups have cited health concerns in their campaign to block the reopening of old sites, and the building of new ones, around Naples.

The campaign has often led to violent confrontations between police and protestors attempting to prevent the reopening of a dump in Pianura, on the outskirts of Naples.

These clashes have prompted Italy's Interior Ministry to warn rapid-response police patrols would be called in to quell any further violence from what they call "hooligan gangs".

Ignoring complaints from opposition politicians, Renatu Soru, Sardinia's governor, said the rest of Italy had a duty to show solidarity with Naples.

"When someone is drowning or a house is burning, first you save the people then you think about the rest," he told Corriere della Sera daily.

Critics argue Campania's waste problem stems from decades of corruption and political weakness, with the local government unable to end the Neapolitan Mafia's control of the waste disposal industry.