Suspected Arson Attack on Refugee Shelter Near Berlin
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – German police say a gym intended as temporary housing for refugees has burned to the ground Tuesday in Nauen, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) west of Berlin.
Brandenburg state police said the fire in Nauen was probably deliberately started. There were no reports of injuries.
The sports facility was due to house about 100 refugees from early next month, the USA Today reported Tuesday.
Police said a technical fault was unlikely to be the cause of the fire, but have not identified any suspects.
Germany is the European Union's largest recipient of asylum applications and the country has seen a surge in economic and political refugee arrivals this year.
By the end of 2015, German officials predict that as many as 800,000 people could arrive in the country.
Protesters allegedly linked to far-right and extremist groups have repeatedly demonstrated against the arrival of asylum-seekers in Nauen.
Heidenau, a town in east Germany near Dresden, has also in recent days seen violent protests take place outside a shelter for asylum seekers.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned that violence during which rocks and fireworks were hurled at police officers, saying the actions taken by far-right groups and their supporters were "shameful."
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the violent outbursts," Merkel said. "There was an aggressive mood against foreigners there that isn't acceptable in any way."
She also criticized Heidenau residents who apparently stood by as extremists attacked police who were trying to ensure refugees arrived at the shelter safely.
"It's repulsive how far-right extremists and neo-Nazis are spreading their hollow message, but it's equally shameful how citizens — even families with children — support this by marching along," she said.
Arson has also not been ruled out after an empty building that was due to be converted to a shelter for refugees was destroyed by fire Monday in Weissach, a town in southwestern Germany.
Many of the people coming to Germany are fleeing poverty, violence and war in Africa and the Middle East, but sizable numbers — around half, according to some estimates — are also arriving from Balkan countries such as Albania and Serbia.
Nationals arriving from countries in the former Yugoslavia are almost always immediately deported because Germany considers these nations to be "safe" countries of origin. Activists dispute that label.