Rome’s mayor declares capital ‘under attack’ from criminals
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Rome’s mayor vowed to defend the Italian capital from criminals following a fire at an illegal landfill.
The battle cry was spurned after firefighters managed to bring the blaze in the eastern suburb of Collatina under control.
“Rome is under attack. Under attack from criminals that continue to act against citizens,” Virginia Raggi, 40, said in a Facebook post hours after the blaze was controlled.
“We will not stand by and watch,” Raggi said.
“I have declared war several times on the mafia and I’m not afraid: Rome will not remain under the control of these criminals”.
Police said they had opened an arson investigation in the Collatina fire.
The dump in the Collatina district, was cordoned off by police in February and was due to be cleaned up by the city next week.
The fire follows two large blaze at Rome waste treatment plants in the past four months, and 600 bins set alight across the city in the past two years.
Raggi, the city’s first female mayor, has come in for fierce criticism for the state of the Italian capital, although most problems stem from before Raggi was elected in 2016, there have been increasing calls for her to resign.
