Riots sweep through Stockholm's immigrant-dominated suburbs for fifth straight day

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At least nine cars were torched and two schools and a police station were set ablaze as riots swept through Stockholm's immigrant-dominated suburbs for the fifth straight night, police and firefighters said.

The riots, which have shattered Sweden's image abroad as a peaceful and egalitarian nation, have sparked a debate about the assimilation of immigrants, who make up about 15 percent of the population.

Many of the immigrants who have arrived due to the country's generous refugee policy struggle to learn the language and find employment, despite numerous government programmes.

Early Friday, police told Swedish news agency TT eight people had been arrested so far for the night's rioting, but no injuries were reported.

The previous night, the fire brigade had been called to some 90 different blazes, most of them caused by rioters.

"We are gradually becoming more like other countries," said Aje Carlbom, a social anthropologist at Malmoe University.

The troubles, which began Sunday in the Husby suburb, are believed to have been triggered by the fatal police shooting of a 69-year-old Husby resident last week after the man wielded a machete in public.

The man had fled to his apartment, where police have said they tried to mediate but ended up shooting him dead in what they claimed was self-defence.

Local activists said the shooting sparked anger among youths who claim to have suffered from police brutality. During the first night of rioting, they said police had called them "tramps, monkeys and negroes."