Our Swedish correspondent Svenne Tvaerskaegg sends this grim report on the demise of the Swedish city of Uppsala.

Uppsala has fallen

by Svenne Tvaerskaegg

The ancient city of Uppsala, the fourth-largest in Sweden with roots going back to Viking times, has fallen. Earlier this week, August 23 2018, Uppsala police announced that they are no longer in control, and criminal gangs have taken over the city.[1]

Uppsala is home to the immigrant ghettos of Gottsunda och Valsätra, both classified by police as amongst the worst ghettos in Sweden, where crime is rampant and law is in the hands of gang bosses and clan leaders. Police and other services are routinely attacked if they enter the ghettos, and even the fire brigade and ambulances have to wait for a police escort before they can respond to an emergency. Riots there are regular occurrences. In 2016 the twin ghettos were the scene of riots lasting for two days in which roads were barricaded with burning containers and cars were set ablaze. Molotov cocktails were thrown during pitched battles with the police, and the ghettos were deemed too dangerous to enter by fire brigades who were often forced to stand by at a safe distance and watch fires burn themselves out.[2]

Over the years immigrant gangs in Uppsala have spread their influence far beyond the ghettos, and have been waging open warfare against the police for control of the city. Shootings are common and police stations have been attacked with hand grenades. In what was a clear warning to the police and a show of what the gangs are capable of, the car of the chief of police was blown up outside his home. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven denounced the attack, which caused shock waves throughout the country. The Interior Minister promised severe measures would be taken against the gangs.[3]

What such measure might be nobody knows. Everything tried so far has been unsuccessful. In 2014 a new chief of national police, Dan Eliasson, was appointed who promised to regain control of Sweden’s ever-growing ghettos. In 2018 Dan Eliasson admitted defeat and was removed from his position. Under his watch the number of ghettos actually increased and immigrant crime continued to rocket. According to chastened ex-police chief Eliasson, police resources are overwhelmed by out-of-control immigration, gang shootings and crime, and “many in Swedish society do not fully realize how troubling the situation is.”[4]

Now, incredibly, police in a Swedish city have announced officially that they have lost the battle against the immigrant gangs. According to the police spokeswoman Lisa Sannervik it is the criminal gangs and not the police who are now in control of Uppsala.

Whoever is appointed Prime Minister of Sweden after the general election next week might have to do what present Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said he was considering, but never dared to do: send the military into the ghettos.

Sources:

For previous essays by Svenne Tvaerskaegg, see the Svenne Tvaerskaegg Archives.