An anarchist group claimed responsibility for sabotaging rail infrastructure in northern Italy on Saturday and disrupting train services on the first day of the Winter Olympics, Reuters reported.
Police reported three separate incidents in different locations on Saturday morning that caused delays of up to 2.5 hours for high-speed and regional trains, especially in the Bologna area. There were no injuries and no trains were damaged.
In a statement posted online, an anarchist group said Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni's tough crackdown on protests had made street confrontations "ineffective" and have forced it to seek other forms of protest.
“Therefore, it seems necessary to resort to illegal methods, to decentralize the conflict and to expand the fronts, as well as to resort to self-defense and sabotage in order to survive in the times ahead“, the anarchists said in a statement.
The police have not yet commented on the content of the statement. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads the transport ministry, has promised to capture the anarchists.
“We will do everything to... track down and expose these bandits, wherever they are hiding, to put them in prison and to confront those who protect them“, he wrote in “Ex“. "Long live the Olympic Games, a symbol of an Italy that builds, inspires emotions and never gives up," Salvini added.
Anarchists have condemned the Olympic Games, calling them a "celebration of nationalism." They said the event provides a "testing ground" for for crowd control and monitoring of people's movements.
Shortly after Saturday's attack on railway infrastructure, a small group of about 100 hooded protesters threw flares and fireworks at police after breaking away from the main group at the anti-Olympic demonstration in Milan.
Meloni condemned the protesters and saboteurs, calling them “enemies of Italy”.