The central Dutch town of Culemborg was the scene of renewed disturbances on Sunday evening, in the latest in a series of clashes between youths from the Moluccan and Moroccan communities.

Troublemakers in the Terwijde neighbourhood threw stones and bottles and broke windows. Order has now been restored, maintained by a strong police presence in the streets.

In September last year riot police broke up street fights involving hundreds of youths over the course of a week in the small city southeast of Utrecht. The fighting was part of an ongoing rivalry between Moluccan and Moroccan gangs.

In response the local council organised reconciliatory meetings between the two groups, and reported positive results. ‘Street coaches’ were also introduced to monitor the youth’s behaviour and promote contact between youths from the different communities.

On New Year's Eve, however, like many places in the Netherlands, Culemborg again saw vandalism and disturbances. Fighting broke out between the rival gangs after a car was set alight. Another car was deliberately driven into a group of people and stones and fireworks were thrown at police. Six youths have been arrested in connection with the incidents.

The rival groups are the children or grandchildren of immigrants. Waves of immigrants from the Moluccan Islands came to the Netherlands in the 1950s to escape reprisals for supporting the Dutch during the conflict that led to Indonesian independence. Moroccans began coming to the Netherlands to work in industry as so-called ‘guest workers’ in the 1960s.

Dutch riot police - ANP