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5 convicted in Corsica clash that sparked burkini tensions

5 convicted in Corsica clash that sparked burkini tensions

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

File- Muslim woman bathes in the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel, on September 2, 2016. Photo: AP

PARIS: A court in Corsica has convicted five people for violence on a beach that was initially believed linked to a woman wearing a full-body burkini swimsuit. The mayor of Sisco, where last month's clash occurred, said on France-Info radio Friday he hoped the town could now turn the page on this 'painful affair.' Several people were wounded in the violence between a group of sunbathers of North African origin from a nearby town and local villagers. Mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni banned burkinis in his town after the violence, though later conceded he didn't know whether a burkini was involved. The court in Bastia said Mustapha Benhaddou was sentenced to two years in prison, while two of his brothers and two men from a rival group were given suspended sentences.