French Interior Minister cancels trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan amid domestic violence

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has cancelled his trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan scheduled between Nov. 6 and 9 due to riots in Paris suburbs, said the ministry in a statement on Wednesday.

"The violence in the town these days has induced Nicolas Sarkozy to cancel his trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan," said the statement.

The statement was released after six days of riots in Paris suburbs inhabited by poor immigrants, where gangs of youngsters set cars and garbage cans ablaze and clashed with police.

According to Paris police officials, more than 150 fires have been reported overnight Tuesday. Throughout the Seine-Saint-Denis area, some 60 vehicles have been torched.

The violence first started on Thursday and Friday nights in Clichy-sous-Bois in northeast Paris, an area which is home to many Muslim immigrants from North Africa.

Two local teenagers were electrocuted Thursday while they were trying to run away from police.

Local people are blaming the unrest on the police, saying they had been too tough in dealing with the situation and the police operation smacked of racial discrimination.

Source: Xinhua