There have been at least two serious incidents at refugee centres in the Netherlands in recent days, both involving groups of asylum seekers getting into fights.

Local broadcaster Omroep Brabant said on Monday at least 35 Eritrean and Syrian nationals were involved in a brawl at a refugee centre in Budel earlier this month.

And last week, police were called to break up disturbances at a refugee centre in Overloon which involved several dozen men. They were using sticks, metal pipes and even knives to attack each other, Dutch media reported at the time.

Police are still investigating the cause of that incident, in which eight men ended up in hospital.

‘The refugee placement agency COA has to take action because the situation is threatening to get seriously out of hand,’ a source told Omroep Brabant. ‘There are fights on an almost daily basis.’

The tension is largely due to differences about drinking and noise in the evenings, the NRC said.