Police in Leicester drafted in riot squads and mounted units to quell ongoing disorder and violence between the youth from the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Fifteen people were arrested on Sunday night after rival gangs, many wearing masks, clashed in the east of the city.
The latest sectarian disorder follows weeks of rising tension that first erupted after the Asia Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan on Aug 28.
Since then, inflammatory comments and rumours posted on social media have made things worse, according to the mayor of Leicester.
Leicestershire Police has condemned the violence and has called for dialogue between representatives from both communities.
Officers from neighbouring forces, as well as a specialist, mounted unit, were brought in at the weekend to support the operation.
Stop and Search reintroduced
A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said: “Officers became aware of groups of young men gathering on Sunday afternoon in the North Evington area of the city.
“Officers spoke to them and took steps, including putting in place a temporary police cordon, to minimise harm and disturbance to communities.”
The spokesman added that special stop and search powers had also been introduced to keep the peace in the city.
He went on: “The impact this disorder is having on our local communities is not acceptable. We will not tolerate violence, disorder or intimidation in Leicester and we continue to call for calm and dialogue. Our police operations and investigations continue with rigour and at scale.”
Social media misinformation blamed for tensions
Peter Soulsby, the mayor of Leicester, blamed people posting videos and comments on social media for distorting the facts and inflaming the tensions.
“I’ve seen quite a selection of the social media stuff which is very, very, very distorting now, and some of it just completely lying about what had been happening between different communities,” he said.
Mr Soulsby added that people from other parts of the country, including Birmingham, had been travelling to Leicester to take part in the disorder.
