Arsonists target planned asylum shelter for teen refugees

Someone tried to set fire to a building in Valkenswaard in Noord-Brabant, which is being prepared as a shelter for teenage refugees, police have said.

The fire was started at two points on the former business premises on Leenderweg late on Wednesday, several windows were also broken.

Police said on Thursday that they were treating the incident as arson. A flammable liquid may have been thrown against the building, according to reports.

News emerged less than two weeks ago that COA, the refugee settlement agency, had approved a plan to house 40 unaccompanied minors aged 14 to 18 at the site for up to five years, a term that could be extended to 10.

Valkenswaard council stressed that no final decision had yet been taken, and that it would work through the details with COA over the coming months.

Run of attacks
The arson is the latest in a wave of vandalism, fires and bomb scares at sites earmarked for asylum seekers. In June, explosives were found at a planned centre in nearby Nuenen.

Earlier in the year, an explosion damaged a building in Den Bosch earmarked for teenage refugees, and a disused town hall in Loosdrecht was targeted during weeks of riots and arson.

The domestic security service AIVD is still investigating whether organised groups are behind the unrest.