Demonstrators chanted "Resistance! Resistance!" in the streets of Chiaiano on the outskirts of Naples, one of a series of localities earmarked by Berlusconi's government as sites which can absorb thousands of tonnes of trash.

Among those present at Saturday's demonstration in Chiaiano was Alessandra Mussolini, grand-daughter of Italy's one-time Fascist leader Benito Mussolini and herself an extreme right-wing politician.

Plans by Berlusconi to deal with the rubbish piling up on Naples streets ran into trouble because of resistance by locals who would be expected to put up with the new rubbish dumps.

During overnight Friday clashes about 1,000 protestors tried to block access to one of the new sites Berlusconi had designated.

Three protestors and six police officers were injured, according to Italy's ANSA news agency.

Demonstrators set fire to a bus and hurled rocks at police who staged a baton charge and fired tear gas in a bid to end the protests.

Police said seven demonstrators were arrested.

Berlusconi ordered the opening of 10 new dumps, as part of a package of measures to try to resolve the dispute.

He announced the meaures after a special meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday in Naples to show solidarity with local people over the crisis.

But Berlusconi also warned that the new dumps would be declared military zones and protected as such by the army.

"Blockade actions organised by minorities will not be tolerated," he said. Anyone who violently demonstrated against the new dumps could face jail terms, he added.

The cabinet also appointed a new junior minister -- Guido Bertolaso, previously civil security chief -- whose only job is resolving the rubbish crisis.

The European Commission has already expressed doubt whether Berlusconi's measures would address underlying structural problems.

The Commission filed a lawsuit with a European Union court against Italy earlier this month, saying the previous government had not taken adequate measures to tackle the mountains of rubbish in the area.

Naples and the surrounding Campania region have been in and out of a state of crisis for 14 years over the rubbish problem.

An important factor is the local mafia which controls landfills in the region with lucrative business handling waste illegally from other areas.

The Naples mafia, known as the Camorra, are best known for drug trafficking, but experts say the highly lucrative clandestine trade in industrial waste is their second source of revenue.

Undercutting competitors and subverting safety procedures, the "ecomafia" ship industrial waste from the north and dump it illegally in and around Naples.

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