Migrant clans' war-like violence tops Swedish voters' concerns

Gang shootings have intensified and spread across Sweden in recent years, with authorities struggling to contain the violence that now tops voters’ concerns ahead of Sunday’s general election.

“This is my son, Marley, when he was 19 years old,” Maritha Ogilvie tells AFP, holding up a framed photo of a smiling young man, one of many that adorn the walls of her Stockholm apartment.

“He was shot in the head sitting in a car with a friend,” the 51-year-old says.

The murder, on March 24, 2015 in Varby Gard, a deprived concrete suburb southwest of Stockholm, was never solved and the case was closed 10 months later.

Killings like these are often settling scores between rival gangs, often controlled by immigrant clans, according to police, and increasingly in public places in broad daylight.

The violence is mostly attributed to battles over the drug and gun market and personal vendettas.

It has escalated to the point where Sweden, one of the richest and most equal countries in the world, now tops the European ranking for fatal shootings.

Armed police officers at the scene of a shooting at the Emporia shopping center in Malmo, Sweden, on August 19.  A man was killed and a woman was injured after the attacker opened fire.

Armed police officers at the scene of a shooting at the Emporia shopping center in Malmo, Sweden, on August 19. A man was killed and a woman was injured after the attacker opened fire.

Rioters burn tires in the Swedish city of Malmo during angry protests after far-right activists burned a copy of the Koran in August 2020.

Rioters burn tires in the Swedish city of Malmo during angry protests after far-right activists burned a copy of the Koran in August 2020.

According to a report published last year by the National Council for Crime Prevention, among 22 countries with comparable data, only Croatia had more fatal shootings, and no other country saw a greater increase than Sweden over the past decade.

Despite various measures introduced by the Social Democratic government to crack down on gangs, including harsher prison sentences and increased police resources, the number of dead and injured continues to rise.

Since January 1, 48 people have been killed by firearms in Sweden, three more than in all of 2021.

There are also frequent bombings of houses and cars and grenade attacks.

For the first time, crime has displaced the usual welfare state problems of health care and education and is a top concern for Swedes in Sunday’s election.

Protesters throw stones at police as protesters riot in the Rosengard neighborhood of Malmo, Sweden, on August 28, 2020. The protest was sparked by the burning of a Koran by members of the Danish far-right Stram party. Kurs that same day.

Protesters throw stones at police as protesters riot in the Rosengard neighborhood of Malmo, Sweden, on August 28, 2020. The protest was sparked by the burning of a Koran by members of the Danish far-right Stram party. Kurs that same day.

While the violence was once contained in places frequented by criminals, it has now spilled over into public spaces, raising concerns among ordinary Swedes in a country long known as safe and peaceful.

On August 19, a 31-year-old man identified as a gang leader in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city, was shot dead in the Emporia shopping mall, several months after his brother’s death.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested for the murder.

A week later, a young woman and her son were injured by stray bullets while playing in a park in Eskilstuna, a quiet town of 67,000 people west of Stockholm.

The right-wing opposition, led by moderate Conservatives and far-right Sweden Democrats hoping to wrest power from the Social Democrats, has vowed to restore “law and order”.

Defending the left from accusations of laxism, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has promised a “national offensive” against the scourge that represents “a threat to the whole of Sweden”.

According to Andersson, the escalation in the number of crimes is due to the appearance of “parallel societies” after “too much immigration and too little integration.”

Defending the left against accusations of laxism, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (in the center of the photo on September 1) has promised a

Defending the left against accusations of laxism, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (in the center of the photo on September 1) has promised a “national offensive” against the scourge that represents “a threat to all of Sweden”.

Jacob Fraiman, a former gangster now helping other criminals leave that life behind, says even he is shocked by the level of violence.

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‘I’m from another generation, obviously we also had weapons. But it wasn’t often that you had to shoot someone,’ he told AFP in Sodertalje, an industrial city south of Stockholm with a large migrant population.

You used to shoot someone in the legs. Now, they tell them to shoot in the head,’ he says.

At the police station in Rinkeby, one of Stockholm’s deprived suburbs, patrol policeman Michael Cojocaru, 26, says he and his colleagues regularly face brutal violence reminiscent of war and seize assault weapons. , grenades and explosives.

“You’re going to see injuries, people who have been shot with AK47s, who have been stabbed, people who have war wounds,” he told AFP.

‘It’s like a totally different society… another kind of Sweden.’

Experts attribute the escalation in violence to a number of factors, including segregation, integration and economic hardship for immigrants, and a large black market for weapons.

The recruitment of young adolescents into criminal gangs, who are not tried as adults if caught, is also a major concern.

Seven years later, Maritha Ogilvie is still trying to understand why her son was killed. ‘He was a normal boy’.

‘I don’t know what happened to our society. I don’t know how they lost control of certain areas, but they did,’ she sighs. ‘And it keeps getting worse.’

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