Roma Kids Set Ghetto on Fire in Bulgaria's Sofia

Kids from the Roma ghetto in Sofia's Orlandovtsi quarter are seen posing before the fire that they or other local kids are believed to have started, and that nearly burned down the shantytown their families live in. Photo by BGNES

A fire broke out in the Roma ghetto in the Orlandovtsi Quarter of the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Wednesday, with the arsonists being local Roma kids.

The fire was tamed by the Sofia fire brigade but burned about a decare of grassland between two outer lying streets in the Roma-populated part of Orlandovtsi, a northeastern quarter in Sofia.

The fire fighters managed to stop the fire right before it engulfed the shantytown populated by the enormous Roma extended families inhabiting them.

According to bTV, the fire was started on purpose by a group of Roma kids even though it is unclear whether they were just playing when they started it.

However, the kids seemed to be having fun as they started a second fire two blocks away from the first while three fire brigade units were trying to put it out.

The wind helped spread the fire to a third street, keeping a sizable portion of the Sofia fire brigade occupied for hours.

One of the Roma kids, which confessed that its group perpetrated the arson, is reported to have been beaten by the others for his confessions.

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