Six injured in fighting between Sri Lankans in Zurich

GENEVA: Swiss police said on Tuesday that six Sri Lankans were injured when fighting broke out among rival groups from the Indian Ocean island after a May Day parade in the city of Zurich.

Two people were treated in hospital for serious head and back injuries after a gathering of about 100 Sri Lankans following the parade turned into a vicious brawl, Zurich city police said in a statement.

About 30 of them fought a running street battle using wooden poles and iron bars, it added.

Police said the reasons for the outbreak of violence were unclear.

Switzerland is home to one of the largest, predominantly Tamil, Sri Lankan emigrant communities in Europe.

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a report last year that tensions had grown within the community as the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) engaged in extortion and threats on exile communities to finance their guerrilla war.

May 1, 2007 (AFP)