World

Big rise in German attacks on migrants

October 9, 2015 6:32 pm

The German government says there have been almost 500 attacks on homes intended for asylum seekers this year – three times more than in 2014.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere called such violence “shameful”. Two-thirds of the attacks were carried out by locals who had no previous criminal record, he said.

Germany expects to host at least 800,000 asylum seekers this year.

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Bavaria’s leaders have demanded that Berlin restrict the numbers arriving.

The southern state’s conservative CSU government opposes Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy for refugees. Yet formally the CSU is allied with her Christian Democrats (CDU).

Many of the migrants reaching central Europe via the Balkans have expressed a wish to settle in Germany.

Germans are split over Ms Merkel’s welcome for refugees from Syria, Iraq and other conflict zones. That welcome does not extend to non-EU economic migrants.