London: Violent clashes were reported between police and supporters of a British far-right group whose members marched through Nottingham chanting, "We want our country back”. Police said 11 arrests were made.
A policewoman was taken to hospital with injuries after members of the English Defence League (EDL) marched through the town of Nottingham in northeast England on Saturday.
Reports said 500 EDL demonstrators, many drunk and with their faces covered, marched through Nottingham shouting insults aimed at Allah.
Others waved placards which read: ‘Protect Women, No to Sharia’ and ‘No Surrender’.
Hundreds of officers, some with dogs, were drafted in to control the EDL rally and a counter-protest from Unite Against Fascism supporters.
Brief skirmishes between EDL members and a small group of Asian students waving a Pakistani flag were broken up by officers, British papers reported.
The march was the latest in similar demonstrations that have been held recently across Britain by far-right groups whose members target cities and towns with large communities of mainly South Asian-origin people.
IANS
First Published: Sunday, December 06, 2009, 20:19