AT LEAST three people were injured in clashes between Swedish police and protesters in the eastern city of Norrkoping on Sunday over a far-right Danish group’s attempts to burn copies of the Koran.

Fighting broke out between supporters of the neonazi Hard Line group and counter-protesters, resulting in 17 arrests. 

“Three people seem to have been hit by ricochets and are now being cared for in hospital. All three injured are arrested on suspicion of a crime,” a police statement said. 

Clashes started on Thursday when the Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan reportedly tried to burn a copy of the Koran in a Muslim-populated area in central Sweden.

Police ignored calls by hundreds of counter-protesters to stop the act, which took place during the holy month of Ramadan, sparking violence. 

Unrest was also reported in Stockholm, Orebro, Landskrona and Malmo over the failure of law enforcement officials to act. 

Swedish Justice Minister Morgan Johansson inflamed tensions further by asking counter-protesters to go home. 

He said that while Mr Paludan is “a right-wing extremist fool,” Sweden is a “democracy and in a democracy fools also have freedom of speech.”