ROME – Three immigrants were beaten up on Sunday night by locals who took to the streets of Corcolle to protest attacks on two Atac buses.

The mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino, appealed for calm and asked that “feelings of intolerance not be stirred up.” However on Monday evening residents gathered in a piazza in the suburb, chanting “Immigrants: we don’t want them.” Their sentiments were echoed by the President of the area, Marco Scipioni, who said “There are too many of them, two weeks ago they opened a new refugee centre, enough.”

The initial attacks happened over the weekend within 24 hours when two buses driven by female drivers were pelted with rocks and bottles, smashing their windows. The first attack on Saturday night took place on bus line 042, when the driver, named as Elisa, was faced by a crowd of around 40 immigrants who shouted death threats at her. She was hit by rocks but managed to drive away.

Following an almost identical incident on line 508 on Sunday night, local residents came out on to the streets in an informal protest against immigration. A number of the crowd, observing a group of immigrants getting off a bus, attacked. The three victims had to receive hospital treatment for multiple contusions. Police are still investigating in an attempt to identify the aggressors.

Following the incidents Atac have pledged to improve the safety of their services. Meanwhile residents at the refugee centre in the area have been warned not to leave the building for a time. The political situation is tense as the authorities attempt to ensure that the unrest doesn’t spill over into neighbouring areas. European MP for the nationalist party Lega Nord (Northern League), Mario Borghezio, warned that the amount of refugee centres in the country represents a risk to the safety of Italians.