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Another refugee center attacked in Germany amid growing trend

A firefighter works on the roof of a burned building that was to host refugees in Rossbach, southern Germany, on December 18, 2015. (photos by AFP)

A partially completed refugee shelter in Germany has come under an arson attack by unidentified individuals who tossed several Molotov Cocktails at the compound in an apparent bid to set it on fire.

The early Saturday morning attack took place in the village of Schlettau in the Saxony region, where two security officers stationed at the site heard what was described in German press reports as the “dull sound of an explosion.”

Four asylum seekers were in the building at the time but no one was injured, regional German MDR TV channel reported, adding that some 100 foreign refugees were due to be accommodated in the shelter within weeks.

Another attack on a refugee center took place almost simultaneously in the city of Dresden, but no one was injured in the incident.

Asylum seekers arrive at a first registration center for refugees in Giessen, Germany, on December 2, 2015. 

Nearly 70 firemen and 10 police officers were dispatched to the scene of the attack, after which the shelter came under a 24-hour security watch.

This is while the security personnel already at the site found two Molotov Cocktails in the building, one of which had set a carpet on fire. Two others were later discovered on the shelter’s roof which apparently went out without causing any damages.

Four people – two male and two female – were witnessed fleeing the shelter in a vehicle right after the incident.

The Saturday attacks were the latest in the growing number of hate crimes perpetrated against asylum seekers across Germany. According to law enforcement figures, the number of arson attacks on refugee shelters has surpassed 800 so far this year, marking a major increase compared to the previous year.


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