Brutal racist attack in London leaves Iranian-Kurdish teenager unconscious

Six arrests have been made as British police hunt eight people who launched a vicious racist attack on a teenage Iranian-Kurdish asylum seeker in South London.

The 17-year-old was beaten unconscious and left with a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain, following the attack which took place in Croydon on Friday night.

The man was with three friends at a bus stop when he was approached by a gang of eight men and women who demanded to know where he was from.

When he replied that he was asylum seeker he was chased by the gang and beaten unconscious, while his friends escaped unharmed.

"The suspects asked the victim where he was from and when they established that he was an asylum seeker they chased him and launched a brutal attack," said Detective Sergeant Kris Blamires in a statement.

"He has sustained serious head and facial injuries as a result of this attack, which included repeated blows to the head by a large group of attackers."

Police arrested four men and two women in Croydon on Saturday on charges of attempted murder and violent disorder, according to The Guardian.

Police said they were questioning a 24-year-old man, a 24-year-old woman, three 20-year-old men and a 20-year-old woman.

Gavin Barwell, Croydon Central MP, described the attackers as "scum" and said they do not represent the majority of his constituents.

— Furieuse francophile (@fourasienne) April 2, 2017" style="color:#fff;" class="twitter-post-link" target="_blank">Twitter Post Today I am thoroughly ashamed to be english. What has happened to the country that took in Jews fleeing fascism in 1930s?#Croydon — Furieuse francophile (@fourasienne) April 2, 2017

"I think most people in Croydon will be as appalled as I am that what appears to have happened is a young man who came to this country seeking sanctuary has apparently been targeted because of his ethnic background," he said according to The Guardian.

"It's an appalling crime and I hope the people responsible are caught quickly and receive the full force of British justice." 

Croydon was the final destination for 14 unaccompanied teenage asylum seekers who were living in the Jungle Camp, across the Channel in Calais, France.

The decision sparked outrage from some right-leaning sections of the media who, despite the insistence of the government, cast doubt on whether the refugees were teenagers.

Police say there has been an upsurge in racist violence since the UK voted to leave the EU last year. Immigration played a key role in the debate and some have argued that the decision to leave has given racists a boost in confidence.

Since then, hundreds of hate crimes - including the murder of a Polish man - have been investigated while police say many more assaults go unreported.

On Saturday, between 100 and 250 far-right protesters marched through London.

Clashes took place between the joint English Defence League-Britain First marchers and a larger counter-demonstration of anti-racist activists with 14 arrests made.