London, Aug 10 (IANS) "Keep away from Britain" -- media around the world have warned people, while reacting with horror to the riots that have affected many cities across the country.

London has been portrayed as a "lawless city", with German magazine Der Spiegel comparing the British capital to Somalia's capital Mogadishu, the Daily Mail reported.

"The television images dominating screens this week could be right out of Mogadishu. As difficult to imagine as it might be, the pictures aren't from Somalia, but from London, right in the centre of Europe. And they will never be forgotten," Der Spiegel wrote.

The TZ newspaper in Munich said: "What has gone wrong with Britain? Like the Sex Pistols said, it truly is anarchy in the UK."

The Bild had many headlines like "Chaos reigns in London!", "England in flames" and "London's night of horror".

The Süddeutsche Zeitung warned that next year's Olympic Games could also be affected.

The New York Times called the riots "the worst outbreak of social unrest in Britain in 25 years".

The Huffington Post news website had the headline "London's Burning".

The Wall Street Journal had a report where the author wrote: "These people are welcome to march and protest, but when they start robbing and destroying others' property then I'm all for declaring them targets for target practice."

An editorial in France's Le Monde newspaper, said Britain was asking itself: "How to put an end to the destruction, which has in three days devastated whole neighbourhoods in London and its suburbs, as well as the cities of Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool?"

The Spanish laSexta TV channel described London as a "lawless city", while the El Pais newspaper said: "Far from reacting quickly, the government was missing during the crucial hours and has responded with a vagueness which has failed to calm the violence."