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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Syrian man beaten as Germany braces for more anti-migrant protests

Violent anti-migrant protests were held on Sunday and Monday in Chemnitz, in the state of Saxony, as far-right demonstrators clashed with counter-protesters over the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German man in a brawl.
Two men -- an Iraqi and a Syrian -- have been arrested in connection with the stabbing.
Local right-wing extremist group Pro Chemnitz has called on Facebook for another mass rally in the city on Thursday.
Police in Wismar said the Syrian man was attacked Wednesday night by three German men as he made his way home alone.
He was subjected to xenophobic insults, punched, kicked and hit with a chain, suffering a broken nose and bruising to the face and upper body, a police statement said.
Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
Separately, police said, unknown offenders defaced the windows of the office of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Wismar's old town with stickers and paint. Officers were informed Thursday morning and are investigating.
A right-wing supporter gestures to journalists Monday as riot police stand by during a confrontation with leftists the day after a man was fatally stabbed.
The rallies earlier this week were the latest examples of division in Germany triggered by the country's intake of refugees and migrants.
They were condemned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said "hate in the streets" had no place in the country. She also condemned the stabbing, saying it was "a horrible incident."
The public prosecutor for Chemnitz is investigating how the purported arrest warrant for the suspects in the fatal stabbing came to be posted on social media by Pro Chemnitz, inflaming an already tense situation.
In the warrant, it appeared that at least one of the suspects already had a criminal record.
The document was taken down by Facebook but not before it was shared by thousands of people. Pro Chemnitz has protested against Facebook's removal of the post.
Ten people are also being investigated for giving Nazi salutes, an illegal gesture in the country, during Monday's protest.
Social media video from the protests showed scuffles and far-right demonstrators chanting, "German, social and national. Free, social and national," phrases heavily associated with the neo-Nazi movement.
There were around 1,500 counter-protesters on Monday night, vastly outnumbered by the 6,000 far-right demonstrators, many of whom had traveled from other states to Chemnitz, Saxony state police said.

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