Eight arrested after series of violent street fights leave three injured in central Arnhem

Outbreak of violence across the centre

Emergency services received the first notification of disorder at 21:30 on Tuesday evening, responding to a fight involving approximately 15 individuals near the Arnhem Centraal railway station. When police officers arrived at the station, the group dispersed into surrounding streets, leading to separate confrontations at multiple locations across the inner city. Fights and stabbing reports followed at Willemsplein, the Korenmarkt, Wielakkerstraat, Mariënburgstraat, and the Gele Rijdersplein. At Willemsplein, witnesses observed youths searching for and pulling chains from parked bicycles to use as improvised weapons during a brawl that lasted several minutes. A second emergency call reported a stabbing at Willemsplein at 22:20, prompting a deployment of numerous police units, ambulances, and a trauma helicopter.

Casualties and civilian response

Three individuals suffered injuries during the confrontations across the city centre, including one minor who sustained severe stab wounds. Two of the injured individuals were subsequently identified as suspects and placed under police custody. On the Korenmarkt, three youths walked out of an alleyway near restaurant Pinoccio before one collapsed onto the ground. The victim's companions removed their shirts to apply pressure to the wound before terrace staff from the restaurant Flor Fina and neighbouring Café Arnhem intervened with clean tea towels and first-aid kits. Police officers wearing protective ballistic vests cordoned off sections of Jansstraat and Willemsplein while medical personnel treated the wounded and forensic teams inspected blood drops along the pavement.

Police arrests and ongoing inquiry

Police detained eight suspects aged between 17 and 20, originating from various municipalities across the Netherlands. One of the detainees is under formal investigation on suspicion of attempted manslaughter in connection with the stabbings. On Wednesday morning, forensic specialists documented bloodstains visible on pedestrian pavements and cycle paths near Mariënburgstraat and Gele Rijdersplein. Video footage circulating on social media and among local hospitality staff showed groups of up to ten men trading blows, with one individual pulling another to the ground by his clothing. Police investigators have called on eyewitnesses to provide video recordings to assist in determining the motive and individual roles in the clashes.

Municipal response and asylum policy

Arnhem Mayor Ahmed Marcouch attributed the disorder to a roaming network of Syrian youths who have exhausted their asylum options and engaged in previous disturbances in Groningen and 's-Hertogenbosch. Marcouch stated that municipal services monitor roughly 100 troubled Syrian youths in Arnhem, the vast majority of whom are unaccompanied minors without parents in the country. He warned that unresolved legal status leaves youths vulnerable to recruitment by criminal drug networks, repeating his January warning that the situation had reached five minutes to twelve. Marcouch called on national policymakers in The Hague to accelerate deportations through active diplomatic channels with Damascus.

They have long exhausted their asylum procedures and simply need to leave the country. They commit offences that lead to fights and stabbings. And I do not want that in my city.

Although asylum application approval chances for Syrian nationals dropped following the collapse of the Assad regime, forced deportations to Syria remain suspended under Dutch policy. Dutch asylum and foreign ministers travelled to Damascus in June to initiate bilateral talks, but the discussions concluded without formal return agreements.