An anti-Roma rally which organizers claimed would be the largest ever in Bulgaria, ended peacefully in the country's capital Sofia.
The rally began on Saturday at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT) and lasted for some two hours. Police said some 3,000 people took part, chanting anti-government and anti-Roma slogans.
Members of the Roma community in Bulgaria said on Friday they took the forthcoming event seriously and were prepared to defend themselves.
Bulgaria was hit by small-scale but vigorous anti-Roma rallies after the death of 19-year-old Angel Petrov in the village of Katunitsa in Central Bulgaria last Friday. Petrov was reportedly knocked over and killed by a minibus driven by a relative of a Roma clan leader Kirill Rashkov.
Thousands of protesters - including nationalists and skinheads - rallied in Plovdiv, Varna, Sofia, Pleven, Burgas and other cities shortly after. Hundreds of people, armed with knives, baseball bats and sticks were detained.
