Tag Archives: Germany

Germany has curbed open-door policy for migrants

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a news conference in Berlin, Germany

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany appears to have drastically curtailed its open-door policy for migrants in 2016, turning away 13,000 people without valid documentation in the first six months, already 4,000 more than in the whole of 2015, official data showed on Tuesday.

Around 117,500 migrants were admitted in the same period, compared to a record of more than one million migrants entering the country last year, mainly across the border from Austria.

The bulk of the rejections happened at land entry points and Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis made up the three largest groups of the total, the Interior Ministry data published at the request of the hard-left Die Linke party showed.

Chancellor Angela Merkel last month interrupted her summer break to defend her government’s migration policy after two Islamist attacks by asylum seekers, saying that those fleeing conflicts and persecution have the right to asylum in Germany.

More than 2,500 Afghans, 1,300 Syrians and 1,000 Iraqis were declined entry at border crossings in the January-June period, the ministry said. Iranians, Moroccans, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Gambians, Somalis and Algerians made up the rest of the top 10.

The number of people seeking asylum in Germany dropped drastically this year as a result of border closures in the Balkans, an EU-Turkey deal to stop sea arrivals in Greece and tougher asylum rules in Germany.

In July, 4,500 migrants arrived in Germany, less than half of the daily arrivals at the peak of the crisis in the fall of last year, German police said earlier this month, bringing the number of arrivals in the first seven months of the year to 122,000.

Migrants who arrive in Germany are first registered at reception centres where they have to wait for months before they can officially file an asylum application, creating a huge backlog and putting strain on civil servants.

The influx has dented the popularity of Merkel’s ruling conservatives and prompted the rise of an anti-immigration party.

Turkey has threatened to suspend its migrants agreement with the European Union if there is no deal to grant visa-free travel to Turks. The number of migrants reach Italy in boats from Libya has also been rising.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Support for Germany’s Merkel plunges after attacks

German Chancellor Merkel leaves a news conference in Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) – Popular support for Chancellor Angela Merkel has plunged according to a poll conducted after attacks in Germany, with almost two-thirds of Germans unhappy with her refugee policy.

The survey for public broadcaster ARD showed support for Merkel down 12 points from her July rating to 47 percent. This marked her second-lowest score since she was re-elected in 2013. In April last year, before the migrant crisis erupted she enjoyed backing of 75 percent.

Merkel’s open-door refugee policy has come under attack from critics after five attacks in Germany since July 18 have left 15 people dead, including four assailants, and dozens injured.

Two of the attackers had links to Islamist militancy, officials say.

Support for one of Merkel’s fiercest critics, Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer, who has called for restrictions on immigration to increase security, jumped 11 points to 44 percent.

Over a million migrants have entered Germany in the past year, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

Merkel repeated her claim that Germany could manage to successfully integrate the influx of refugees last week and vowed not to change her refugee policy.

In a poll of 1,003 people conducted Aug. 1-2, just 34 percent of people said they were satisfied or very satisfied with Merkel’s refugee policy. This was the lowest level since the question was first asked last October.

Some 65 percent were dissatisfied with the policy.

The next test of support for Merkel will be state elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Sept. 4, where her Christian Democrats (CDU) are expected to face a strong challenge from the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

A separate poll this week showed that most Germans do not blame the government’s liberal refugee policy for the two Islamist attacks last month.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley)

Merkel cuts short holiday to face refugee policy storm

German Chancellor Merkel addresses a news conference in Berlin

By Paul Carrel

BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel interrupted her vacation on Thursday to face down accusations at home and abroad that her open-door refugee policy allowed Islamist terrorism to take hold in Germany.

Merkel returns to Berlin to hold a news conference at 12 p.m. (07:00 a.m. EDT) after a spate of attacks since July 18 left 15 people dead – including four attackers – and dozens injured.

Two assailants, a Syrian asylum seeker and a refugee from either Pakistan or Afghanistan, had links to Islamist militancy, officials say.

The attacks have burst any illusions in Germany that the country is immune to attacks like those claimed by Islamic State in neighboring France.

Politicians from left and right say Merkel’s refugee policy is at fault, after more than a million migrants entered Germany in the past year, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

“All our predictions have been proven right,” Horst Seehofer, Bavaria’s state premier and a long-standing critic of Merkel’s open-door refugee policy, said on Tuesday. “Islamist terrorism has arrived in Germany.”

Seehofer demanded that Merkel’s government adopt tougher security measures and tighter immigration policies.

Merkel has been on holiday in northern Germany since chairing a security meeting on Saturday, leaving Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere – who twice returned from vacation in the last 10 days – to present the government’s response.

Unlike French President Francois Hollande, who on Tuesday visited Normandy where two assailants killed a priest, Merkel has not been to the scene of any of the attacks in Germany – an absence that has raised questions about her leadership.

“How big will the pressure on Merkel be?” asked mass-selling daily Bild. Business daily Handelsblatt said: “Above all, the new situation puts the chancellor in a difficult position.”

Merkel’s popularity, already eroded by the refugee crisis, is likely to suffer again after a temporary boost following Britain’s vote last month to leave the European Union.

After a 27-year-old Syrian with Islamist ties blew himself up in the town of Ansbach on Sunday, Sahra Wagenknecht of the far-left Linke party criticized as “flippant” Merkel’s mantra of “Wir schaffen das”, or “We can do this,” for handling the influx.

“The events of recent days show that the admission and integration of a large number of refugees and migrants is associated with many problems,” Wagenknecht said.

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Germany bomber influenced in chat by unknown person

Police secure the area after an explosion in Ansbach, Germany,

BERLIN (Reuters) – A Syrian asylum seeker who blew himself up in the southern German town of Ansbach on Sunday was influenced by an unknown person in a chat conversation on his mobile phone, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said on Wednesday.

“It’s possible to deduce that another person wherever they were at the time of the call, of the chat, significantly influenced how the attacker acted,” Herrmann said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Bavarian cabinet.

“The chat ended directly before the attack,” he added.

The 27-year-old Syrian, who had arrived in Germany two years ago, set off explosives in his rucksack on Sunday outside a musical festival in Ansbach, a town of 40,000 people southwest of Nuremberg, killing himself and injuring 15 people.

Police are trying to find out whether the attacker had help making the bomb and whether it exploded prematurely, which could suggest he wanted to kill as many people as possible.

“There are indications that the attacker did not want to ignite the bomb at this moment,” a spokesman for the Bavarian Interior Ministry said.

The attack on Sunday was the fourth act of violence by men of Middle Eastern or Asian origin against German civilians in a week and is likely to fuel growing unease about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy.

More than a million migrants entered Germany over the past year, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

Investigators found a video on the Ansbach bomber’s mobile phone in which he pledged allegiance to militant group Islamic State, which later claimed responsibility for the bombing.

On searching his room, Nuremberg police found diesel, hydrochloric acid, alcohol, batteries, paint thinner and pebbles — the same materials used in the bomb — and computer images and film clips linked to Islamic State.

(Reporting by Reuters TV and Joern Poltz; Writing by Caroline Copley; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Bavarian bomber called in video for more attacks: SITE

German officials after bombing

BERLIN (Reuters) – A Syrian man who injured 15 people when he blew himself up in southern Germany – an attack claimed by Islamic State – called in a video for further attacks, U.S. monitoring group SITE reported, citing Islamic State’s Amaq news agency.

The attack that took place on Sunday outside a music festival in Ansbach, a town of 40,000 people southwest of Nuremberg, was the fourth act of violence by men of Middle Eastern or Asian origin against German civilians in a week.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said on Monday that a video had been found on the bomber’s mobile phone in which he pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

SITE quoted the man in the video saying he was on a “martyrdom-seeking operation” in Ansbach, and calling for more attacks.

He said the attack in Ansbach was in response to “crimes committed by the Coalition in collaboration with Germany by bombing and killing men, women, and children”.

In December the German parliament approved plans to join the military campaign against Islamic State in Syria in a mission that includes sending reconnaissance jets, a frigate, refuelling aircraft and military personnel. But Germany has not joined countries like Britain, France, the United States and Russia in conducting airstrikes.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Syrian refugee arrested for killing pregnant woman with machete

Police stand outside where a 21-year-old Syrian refugee killed a woman with a machete and injured two other people in the city of Reutlingen, Germany

By Andrea Shalal

BERLIN (Reuters) – A 21-year-old Syrian refugee was arrested on Sunday after killing a pregnant woman with a machete in Germany, the fourth violent assault on civilians in western Europe in 10 days, though police said it did not appear linked to terrorism.

The incident, however, may add to public unease surrounding Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy that has seen over a million migrants enter Germany over the past year, many fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

German police said they arrested the machete-wielding Syrian asylum-seeker after he killed a woman and injured two other people in the southwestern city of Reutlingen near Stuttgart.

The Syrian had been involved in previous incidents causing injuries to others, and had apparently acted alone, a police spokesman said.

“Given the current evidence, there is no indication that this was a terrorist attack,” a police statement said.

“The attacker was completely out of his mind. He even ran after a police car with his machete,” the mass-circulation Bid newspaper quoted a witness as saying. A motorist knocked down the attacker soon afterward and he was then taken into custody by police, the witness told Bid. The police spokesman said the man was being interrogated after receiving medical treatment.

Neither Sunday’s attack nor a shooting rampage by an 18-year-old Iranian-German man that killed nine people in Munich on Friday bore any sign of connections with terrorism, police said.

The Islamist militant Telegram channel, however, seized the moment to urge more “lone wolf” attacks. “Perhaps (any) small attack you do may add to the cause for the disbelieving (governments) to finally retreat from attack or oppressing Muslim lands,” the group said in an online post, according to the SITE Intelligence Group monitoring organization.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for both a July 18 ax attack by a 17-year-old refugee that injured five people near Nuremburg in southern Germany, and a July 14 attack in which a Tunisian man drove a truck into Bastille Day holiday crowds in the French city of Nice, killing 84 people.

MANY ATTACKS PRE-EMPTED IN GERMANY

Unlike neighbors France and Belgium, Germany has not suffered a major deadly attack by Islamist militants in recent years, though security officials say they have thwarted a large number of plots.

But opposition critics pin the blame for any violent attacks by migrants on Merkel’s liberal refugee policy.

A leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD)posted a Twitter message after the Munich shooting that said, “Merkel’s unity party: thank you for the terror in Germany and Europe!” The message was later deleted.

The gunman, identified by investigative sources as David Sonboly, opened fire near a busy shopping mall, killing nine people and wounding 35 more, before turning his pistol on himself as police approached several hours later.

Bavarian state investigators said materials found in his home showed the gunman had begun plotting the attack a year ago after visiting the site of a 2009 school shooting in southwest Germany in which 15 people were killed.

Munich police on Sunday arrested a 16-year-old Afghan youth as a possible “tacit accomplice” to the shooting and said he was suspected of having failed to report the gunman’s plans.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, a member of Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats, pledged to review both gun laws and security policies and seek improvements where needed.

But De Maiziere, a strong advocate of increased video surveillance, said German gun laws were already very strict and it was critical to understand how the attacker had obtained his pistol.

Bavarian state officials said on Sunday the Munich gunman bought his reactivated 9mm Glock 17 pistol – the most widely used law enforcement weapon worldwide – on the dark net, a part of the Internet accessible only via special software.

German lawmaker Stephan Mayer, a spokesman for Merkel’s conservatives in parliament, told Reuters he supported stricter regulations on the weapons trade and the creation of a European weapons registry modeled on the German national registry.

Burkhard Lischka, a spokesman for the Social Democrats in parliament, told Die Welt newspaper: “We must put a spotlight on the dark net. We have to give our security agencies the staffing and financial resources to stop this illegal trade.”

The European Union is considering reforms that would tighten gun controls within the 28-nation bloc and make it easier to trace the origin of weapons bought legally.

The proposed changes, which must still be enacted by EU member states, would also set more stringent rules for deactivating previously fully-functioning guns and making them available for sale.

(Additional reporting by John Walcott in Washington, Markus Wacket and Andreas Rinke in Berlin; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Gunmen launch deadly attack on Munich shopping mall, still on the run

Special forces stand guard in front of Munich Mall

By Joern Poltz

MUNICH (Reuters) – Gunmen attacked a busy shopping mall in the German city of Munich on Friday evening, spraying bullets as people fled in horror for safety from what police said was a terrorist attack.

Police said six people had been killed and the attackers were still at large. They told the public to get off the streets as the city – Germany’s third biggest – went into lockdown, with transport halted and highways sealed off.

As special forces rushed to the scene, some people remained holed up in the Olympia shopping center.

“Many shots were fired, I can’t say how many but it’s been a lot,” said a shop worker hiding in a store room inside the mall. The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had seen a shooting victim on the floor who appeared to be dead or dying.

A worker at a different shop, Harun Balta, said: “We are still stuck inside the mall without any information, we’re waiting for the police to rescue us.”

It was the third major act of violence against civilians in Western Europe in eight days. Previous attacks in France and Germany were claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

Munich police spokeswoman said six people were killed and an undetermined number wounded. No suspects had been arrested yet, she said.

“We believe there was more than one perpetrator. The first reports came at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT), the shooting apparently began at a McDonald’s in the shopping center. There are still people in the shopping center. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them,” the spokeswoman said.

Bavarian broadcaster BR said six people were dead and many wounded in the shopping mall. Munich police said on Facebook that witnesses reported three different gunmen armed with rifles.

A video posted online – whose authenticity could not be confirmed – showed a man dressed in black outside a McDonalds by the roadside, drawing a handgun and shooting towards members of the public.

Police said witnesses had seen shooting both inside the mall and on nearby streets.

The shopping center is next to the Munich Olympic stadium, where the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually killed them during the 1972 Olympic Games.

Munich’s main railway station was also evacuated. BR said police had also sealed off many highways north of Munich had been shut down and people were told to leave them.

IS SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but supporters of Islamic State celebrated the rampage on social media.

“Thank God, may God bring prosperity to our Islamic State men,” read one tweet.

“The Islamic state is expanding in Europe,” read another.

Friday’s attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a German train in an ax rampage. Bavarian police shot dead the teenager after he wounded four people from Hong Kong on the train and injured a local resident while fleeing.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper’s Friday edition before the mall attack that there was “no reason to panic but it’s clear that Germany remains a possible target”.

The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.

Friday is also the five-year anniversary of the massacre by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway. Breivik is a hero for far-right extremists in Europe and America.

The Munich assault was also reminiscent of Islamist militant attacks in a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013 and in Mumbai, India, in November 2008.

(Reporting by Tina Bellon, Andrea Shalal, Christina Amann, Editing and writing by Robin Pomeroy and Angus MacSwan)

Islamic State supporters hail deadly Munich shooting on social media

Police in Munich getting to shooting scene

CAIRO (Reuters) – Supporters of the Islamic State militant group celebrated on social media a shooting rampage in a shopping mall in the southern German city of Munich on Friday that killed and wounded many people.

“Thank God, may God bring prosperity to our Islamic State men,” read one tweet in Arabic on an account that regularly favors the radical Islamist movement.

“The Islamic state is expanding in Europe,” read an Arabic-language tweet on another account also known to support Islamic State.

The attack was the third major act of violence against civilian targets in Western Europe in eight days. Previous attacks in France and Germany were claimed by Islamic State and Munich police said they suspected the latest assault was a terrorist attack.

Authorities were evacuating people from the Olympia mall in the Bavarian capital but many others were hiding inside.

A Munich police spokeswoman said multiple people were killed or wounded. “We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage,” the spokeswoman said.

Bavarian broadcaster BR said six people were dead and many wounded in the shopping mall. NTV television reported the state’s interior ministry as saying three people were dead, but the ministry said later it would not confirm this.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, which took place a week after an axe-wielding teenager went on a rampage on a German train, wounding four people before he was shot dead. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.

(Reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Amina Ismail; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

Multiple deaths at shooting rampage in German shopping mall: police

Police meet at scene of shooting rampage in Munich

By Joern Poltz

MUNICH (Reuters) – Gunmen went on a shooting rampage in a shopping mall in the southern German city of Munich on Friday, killing and wounding many people, police said.

Authorities were evacuating people from the Olympia mall but many others were hiding inside.

The Bavarian Interior Ministry said three people were dead, NTV television reported. A Munich police spokeswoman said multiple people were killed or wounded.

“We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage,” the spokeswoman said.

More than one gunman was believed to be involved and no one had been arrested, she said.

“We believe there was more than one perpetrator. The first reports came at 6 p.m., the shooting apparently began at a McDonald’s in the shopping center. There are still people in the shopping center. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them.”

Police special forces had arrived at the scene, NTV said.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, which took place a week after an axe-wielding teenager went on a rampage on a German train. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.

Staff in the mall were still in hiding, an employee told Reuters by telephone.

“Many shots were fired, I can’t say how many but it’s been a lot,” the employee, who declined to be identified, said from the mall in Munich.

“All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn’t survive,”

“We have no further information, we’re just staying in the back in the storage rooms. No police have approached us yet.”

Munich transport authorities said they had halted several bus, train and tram lines.

The shopping center is next to the Munich Olympic stadium, where the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually killed them during the 1972 Olympic Games.

Friday’s attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a German train in an axe rampage. Bavarian police shot dead the teenager after he wounded four people from Hong Kong on the train and injured a local resident while fleeing.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper’s Friday edition before the mall attack that there was “no reason to panic but it’s clear that Germany remains a possible target”.

The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.

There was, however, no immediate word that the attack was politically motivated.

Friday is also the five-year anniversary of the massacre by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway. Breivik is a hero for far-right extremists in Europe and America.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Angus MacSwan)

Most Germans fear terrorist attack after train ax assault: poll

German emergency services

BERLIN (Reuters) – More than three-quarters of Germans believe their country will soon be the target of terrorism, a survey showed on Friday, after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a train in an ax attack claimed by Islamic State.

Seventy-seven percent expect an attack to happen soon, up from 69 percent two weeks ago, according to the survey compiled by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for broadcaster ZDF.

Bavarian police shot dead the teenager after he wounded four people from Hong Kong on the train and injured a local resident while fleeing.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said investigations suggested he was a “lone wolf” who had been spurred into action by Islamic State propaganda.

The ax rampage came days after a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 84 in an attack also claimed by the jihadist group.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper’s Friday edition that there was “no reason to panic but it’s clear that Germany remains a possible target”.

The survey of 1,271 respondents, which showed 20 percent do not expect an attack soon, was conducted during the three days following the train attack.

It also showed 59 percent think enough is being done to protect them from terrorism – almost twice as many as think they should be better protected.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; editing by John Stonestreet)