Swedish PM begs overstretched military for help fighting gangs
Ulf Kristersson, the Prime Minister of Sweden, summoned the heads of the army and police for emergency talks today in a desperate bid to tackle spiralling gang violence in a country now estimated to have the highest rate of fatal shootings in Europe.
Kristersson was spurred into action after the Scandinavian nation was rocked by a particularly deadly wave of gun murders and grenade attacks this week. Yesterday, a 25 year-old woman – thought to be a neighbour of an individual with connections to organised crime – was killed when a bomb tore up her house in a town just north of Stockholm. Hours earlier, a man in his twenties was shot dead in a town just south of the capital while another 18 year-old man was killed in a shooting at a crowded sports ground in a Stockholm suburb.
Kristersson is now looking for ways to involve the military in crime-fighting: an unusual step but one which illustrates the scale of the problem.
The overstretched military can legitimately point out it already has its hands full joining NATO and increasing efforts to deter Russia, without having to take on domestic gangsters too.
Last year, more than 60 people died in shootings in Sweden – the highest on record – and the figure this year is likely to be higher, with 12 people killed in gang violence just this month.
The recent surge in violence is thought to be connected to a gang known as the Foxtrot network, which has been riven by infighting and split into two rival factions. The man said to be heading the Foxtrot – Rawa Majid, nicknamed the “Kurdish Fox” – no longer lives in the country. Though raised in Sweden by Iraqi parents, he reportedly now runs the gang in exile from Turkey.
Mobsters have been exploiting Sweden’s laws – which stop children below the age of 15 from being sentenced to any criminal punishment – by recruiting boys as young as 13 or 14 to carry out contract killings.
Swedish police link the surging violence to a widening gap between rich and poor and unsuccessful integration of immigrants.
Kristersson, the centre-right leader who swept to power last year in an election dominated by debates on gang crime, is focussing on the latter – but pinning the blame on his predecessor’s “irresponsible migration policies”.
Under the former centre-left government which ruled for 8 years, Sweden stood out in Europe, alongside Germany, for its liberal immigration policies. During the 2015 migration crisis, it took in more immigrants per capita than any other European nation. Two decades ago, roughly 10 per cent of Sweden’s population was foreign-born. Now, the figure stands at 20 per cent.
Kristersson is set to channel a different approach. This week, he has vowed to push ahead with harsher punishment for gun crimes and stronger deportation powers.
Crucially, this tougher stance is informed by the fact that the right-wing coalition he heads depends on the support of another party: the far right, anti-immigration Swedish Democrats.
In 2022, this populist party won its best result ever, securing over 20 per cent of the vote. This week’s fresh spate of deadly violence could see the Swedish Democrats consolidate their power further.