Finnish Government Leaders Appalled by Attack on Refugees

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The attack took place near the southern city of Lahti, Finnish local broadcaster Yle reported. Dozens of images were posted showing anti-refugee protesters, some of them carrying torches and wearing robes of the kind associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a United States-based white supremacist group.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila condemned the attack in a Twitter post, saying, "Threats and violence against asylum seekers and migrants are absolutely unacceptable."

In an interview with Yle, Foreign Minister Timo Soini stated that he was appalled to see a white supremacist holding a Finnish flag as the crowd pelted the bus containing refugee families with stones and flares.

"There is nothing good about this picture. The Ku Klux Klan is a racist and misanthropic organization. Linking the Finnish flag with it is disgusting," he said.

Earlier this month, Finland agreed to take in 2,400 asylum seekers as part of the European Commission’s initiative to relocate 120,000 refugees from southern EU member states.