US National Guard troops leave violence-hit Baltimore

Maryland’s governor on Sunday said that he has begun the withdrawal of National Guard troops deployed to Baltimore after last week’s riots.

"We’ve already started with a drawdown of the Guard," Larry Hogan was quoted by local media as saying.

“It’s not going to happen instantaneously,” he added, noting that 4,000 personnel were deployed.

“We’re going to get back to normal as quickly as we can.”

Hogan’s comments came after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that a nightly curfew had been lifted.

“I think lifting the curfew is a good idea,” Hogan said.

Hogan said more than 200 businesses, many of them minority-owned, were damaged in Monday evening’s riots.

He additionally estimated the violent demonstrations had cost Baltimore hundreds of millions in property damage and lost revenue.

Hogan expressed relief on Sunday that such disorder had largely dissipated.

“This is the first moment of peace I’ve had in a week,” he said.

The city’s tensions boiled over Monday evening following a funeral for Freddie Gray. Gray, 25, died on April 19 following a severe spinal injury suffered while in police custody.