Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister, has announced a "radical plan" for tackling the Naples rubbish crisis, using emergency powers to mobilise the army under the command of a former Italian chief of police, with an army general as his deputy.

The new "rubbish crisis overlord" is Gianni De Gennaro, former national head of the Italian police, with army general Franco Giannini as his number two. Mr Prodi, speaking after a night of violence at Pianura, the Naples suburb where protesters are blocking the re-opening of a landfill site, said that his aim was to return responsibility for collecting and recycling rubbish to the local authorities.

The Naples rubbish problem, which has been festering for decades, was taken over by central government in 1994. Millions of euros have been spent to little effect, however, with both rubbish collection and illegal dumping of waste remaining largely in the hands of the Camorra, the Naples Mafia.

The Italian Army was called in on Monday, but was given only a limited role confined to clearing rubbish away from schools so they could reopen. It is not clear whether troops will now be used to confront the protesters at Pianura and other contested landfill sites, although this would risk serious civil disturbances. Protesters at Pianura already describe the situation as "civil war".

Mr Prodi said the authorities were looking at alternative landfill sites, and incinerators were being built at Acerra, Santa Maria la Fossa and Salerno. In the past the Camorra has sabotaged plans for incinerators, often in collusion with corrupt local officials.

The Prime Minister said Mr De Gennaro would act as "super commissioner" for 120 days. Local authorities in Naples and the Campania region had, however, to come up with definitive plans for rubbish recycling, otherwise central rule would be continued. He was speaking after an emergency summit with key ministers at Palazzo Chigi, the Prime Minister's office in Rome.

Police who had earlier withdrawn at Pianura during a "truce" again clashed with protesters in the early hours of the morning as fresh attempts were made to reopen the dump. The demonstrators, who have blocked roads with rubbish bins, set fire to a bus. Television images showed one protester being beaten by police as he climbed into the cab of a bulldozer trying to force its way through the roadblocks.

Mr De Gennaro played a controversial role as chief of police during the 2001 riots at the G8 summit in Genoa, when police were accused by demonstrators of brutality. He argued, however, that the violence was caused by a minority of hardline anarchist protesters who set out to attack police and damage buildings. He was previously noted for his dedicated investigations into Mafia crime.