Crews tear down disputed Copenhagen youth centre after days of violence

Black-clad youths sobbed and yelled at construction workers as they tore down a youth centre in Copenhagen yesterday, four days after police evicted squatters from the building sparking some of Denmark's worst street riots with more than 650 arrests and 25 injured.

An excavator tore into the graffiti-sprayed brick building, a former theatre used by youths since 1982. Workers - wearing face masks to conceal their identities - cleared debris under police control.

Birgitte, dreadlocked and dressed in a black hooded sweat shirt and black jeans, said the scene was breaking her heart. "I cannot stand it," said Birgitte, aged 21, declining to give her last name.

Anti-terror squads evicted squatters from the building on Thursday, triggering three nights of clashes with youth that turned parts of the city into battle zones.

Protesters hurled cobblestones at riot police, set fire to cars and trash bins, and caused havoc on the usually calm Copenhagen streets.

Apparently fearing further violence Danish police borrowed 16 armored vehicles from the Netherlands in addition to an earlier loan of 20 police vans from Sweden.

The disputed building, a popular cultural centre for anarchists, punk rockers and left-wing groups, was considered by squatters as free housing. However, courts had ordered them out by 14 December after the city sold the building to a Christian congregation six years ago.

On Monday evening, riot police stopped people from approaching the demolition site. Nine people were arrested in the area for trespassing or refusing to obey police orders, but no violence was reported, officials said.

Ruth Evensen, leader of the small congregation that bought the building, said the four-story structure had to be torn down because it was "a total wreck" and posed a fire hazard.

"It would cost us a fortune to have it fixed," she said, declining to reveal the congregation's plans for the site.

Left-wing lawmakers and a construction workers union tried to halt the demolition, citing health hazards caused by dust containing carcinogenic asbestos, but a demolition company representative denied there was any danger.

Environmental officials visited the site earlier yesterday and approved the demolition.

On Monday afternoon, some 50 people banged drums and blew whistles outside a Copenhagen prison in a show of support for those being held in jail after the street fights.

In Oslo, Norwegian police fired tear gas at some 150 people who protested outside the Danish Embassy, after similar demonstrations in Sweden and Finland over the weekend.

Police said they had arrested more than 140 foreigners since Thursday, including from Sweden, Norway, Germany and the United States. Of the 650 arrested 190 were remanded in custody, and 26 were released. Others were still awaiting court hearings, officials said.

The riots were Denmark's worst since May 1993, when police fired into a crowd of rioters protesting the outcome of a European Union referendum. Ten protesters were wounded.