Angry mob attacks Africans in India

Police arrested five men yesterday after hundreds of angry residents of a north Indian city attacked Africans with sticks and metal chairs following the death of a local teenager from a suspected drug overdose.

Around a dozen people were wounded in the violence late Monday in Greater Noida, a satellite city of New Delhi where hundreds of African students are based.

"Rumours were being spread that Africans are behind the youth's death and racist comments were made on social media. It looks racially motivated," senior police officer Sujata Singh told AFP.

"Five attackers have been arrested and four others are on the run," she said, adding that 300 people were involved in the rioting. India's foreign ministry condemned the incident as "deplorable" and said it had assured the Nigerian high commissioner (ambassador) that all steps were being taken to protect the country's nationals.

Many Nigerians were targeted in the violence, which was apparently triggered by the release without charge of five Nigerian students detained over the teenager's death.

"The government is committed to ensuring safety and security of all foreigners in India," said a ministry statement.