A Syrian man has been brutally attacked in the German city of Wismar as clashes between anti-migrant demonstrators and counter-protesters sparked another night of violence.
According to Rostock police, the 20-year-old was walking home when he was stopped by three German-speaking people who started hurling racial abuse at him.
Two of the suspects hit him in the face before the third hit him on the shoulder and ribs with an iron chain, knocking him to the ground. The culprits fled the scene, leaving him with a broken nose and bruises to his face and upper body.
The attack, which is being investigated as a hate crime, comes as the country braces itself for more violence following the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German man by two migrants during a brawl in Chemnitz on Sunday.
A 22-year-old Iraqi and a 23-year-old Syrian were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the killing.
Several people were left injured after thousands of neo-Nazis took to the streets demanding immigrants leave Germany. Pictures shared on social media showed some masked protesters raising their arms in Nazi salutes, as crowds chanted “Close the borders” and “This is our city”.
According to the Handelsblatt Global, police reported “a series of injuries including a Bulgarian man who was threatened, two Afghan teenagers who were attacked and another person who was followed”.
Reacting to the brewing tensions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that while the German’s citizen’s death was a “horrible incident”, she would not tolerate “hate in the streets”.
“What we have seen is something which has no place in a constitutional democracy,” Ms Merkel said during a joint news conference alongside Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenkovic.
“We have video recordings of people hunting down others, of unruly assemblies, and hate in the streets, and that has nothing to do with our constitutional state.”
However, Alexander Gauland, the co-leader of Alternative for Germany, said he understood the public display of anger.
In an interview with daily Welt he said “when such a killing occurs, it’s normal for people to snap”.
Markus Frohnmaier, an right-wing AfD lawmaker, tweeted: “If the state is no longer able to protect citizens, people take to the streets and protect themselves. It’s as simple as that! Today it’s a citizen’s duty to stop the lethal ‘knife migration’! It could have targeted your father, son or brother!”
