Finns protest against increasing number of refugees

Hundreds of people gathered in several cities across Finland to protest against the increasing number of immigrants, a media report said.

About 200 people assembled here on Saturday to oppose the rise in the number of refugees coming to Finland, shouting "Finland belongs to Finns", Xinhua reported.

The protesters believed that Finland's economic situation is so difficult that Finns should be taken care of before helping others, according to Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

On the same day, anti-immigration protests were also held in Tornio and Kemi in northern Finland.

Police said that protests and marches in the three cities all went peacefully.

In the past a few days, some 500 to 1,000 refugees have arrived in Finland via Tornio on the Finnish-Swedish border.

According to the Finnish Immigration Service, around 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Finland this year. The majority of people seeking asylum in the country are arriving via Tornio.

The Finnish ministry of interior has predicted that about 30,000 asylum seekers will arrive in Finland this year, the highest record in history.