Sharp Rise in Attacks on Migrant Centers in Germany, Says Police
Crimes targeting refugee centers in Germany have risen sharply, police said Thursday, cautioning that the European migrant crisis was also fueling the risk of attacks on politicians by far-right extremists.
The warning by Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) comes after a mayoral candidate in the eastern city of Cologne was stabbed in the neck in an attack apparently motivated by her work with refugees.
The BKA said there were 285 attacks on migrant centers across Germany during July, August and September -- more than in the whole of 2014, when only 198 offenses were recorded.
There have been 576 offenses targeting refugee hostels since the start of the year, including cases of criminal damage and inciting hatred, 523 of which were committed by far-right extremists, the BKA said.
"Alongside the attacks on asylum-seeker hostels, attacks against officials held responsible (for the influx of migrants), such as politicians or the managers of lodging places, could grow," a BKA spokesperson warned.
Independent candidate Henriette Reker became the most prominent victim of a growing backlash against a huge influx of migrants to Germany on Saturday when a man attacked her with knives as she campaigned in the Cologne vote.
She survived serious injuries and went on to win the election.
More than 630,000 people fleeing war and misery in the Middle East and Africa have landed on Europe's shores so far this year.
Most want to get to Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, which is expecting to register up to a million asylum seekers by the end of 2015.
German security experts are bracing for a rise in unrest, with domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maassen warning in late September of a radicalization of right-wing groups and "a greater willingness to use violence" by all extremist groups.
Source: Agence France Presse
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