ROME - National anthem-singing, flag-flying citizens of wealthy Rome suburb, Casale San Nicola, are blockading the street leading up to the ex- Socrates school, where some hundred migrants are set to be housed.

  The prefect of Rome, Franco Gabrielli, has threatened to use force against the residents of the Rome suburb and the far-right activists from CasaPound, if they do not stop barricading the road. The residents stopped three police vans and one SUV from entering, however Gabrielli vows that the authorities will “not take a step back.”

  However, CasaPound and residents firmly uphold the belief that the influx of one hundred migrants into the area, where around 250 families (or around 400 people) reside, will become an “invasion”, and would be completely “unmanageable” from a security point of view. As such, CasaPound promises that they will not stop fighting, insisting that whilst this blockade is no more than a peaceful protest, they will not cease until it is certain that Casale San Nicola will “remain theirs”.

  Meanwhile, similar events have occurred in Northern Italy, with a group of 101 refugees hosted at a residence in the town of Quinto di Treviso having to be moved following fierce protests by the locals.

  The local mayor Mauro Dal Zilio, has confirmed that the migrants will be moved by Friday, after ugly scenes unfolded with residents burning mattresses, television sets, and household appliances destined for the migrants’ homes outside the apartment building complex.

  The buildings house the privately-owned apartments of ten Italian families, who are furious at the local authorities’ decision to move migrants in, and who, speaking to Corriere del Veneto, exclaimed that “they have transformed our houses … into refugee camps. They need to leave.”

  The locals also prevented those tasked with supplying food to the migrants from getting through. The local residents and right-wing activist groups decided to camp out in tents for vigilance reasons, whilst suggesting that they would not sleep on the same premises as the migrants.

  Luca Zaia, the far-right president of the Veneto region, supported the protesters by describing the mayhem as “the Africanisation of Veneto.”