BERLIN (AA) – Far-right and anti-fascist groups clashed in eastern German city of Chemnitz Saturday over alleged killing of a man by migrants.
More than 4,500 far-right protestors attended the anti-immigration rally organized by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the Pro Chemnitz group, a week after a 35-year-old German citizen was allegedly killed by two migrants after a street row.
The protestors, carrying banners that demanded immediate deportation of illegal migrants, chanted slogans “Merkel must go”, “Resistance” and “We are the people”.
Leftist and anti-fascist groups organized a counter demonstration to protest the far-right violence in Chemnitz, as mobs were randomly attacking foreign-looking people on the streets in recent days.
The counter-protest drew at least 3,500 people, according to the organizers.
Authorities maintained a heavy police presence and tried to keep rival groups apart in a bid to avoid violence.
In Kandel, dueling protests took place on Saturday, ahead of a court verdict in the trial of a refugee who allegedly killed his teenage girlfriend.
Fifteen-year-old Mia V. was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife outside of a local drugstore in Kandel on December 27 last year. Her ex-boyfriend, an Afghan refugee, was accused of murdering Mia after she broke up with him. Both the teen and her parents went to the police to report his threatening behavior.
A state court in the city of Landau is due to deliver a verdict on the murder trial on Monday.
The case sparked months of demonstrations in Kandel that saw thousands of anti-migrant and counter-demonstrators descend upon the town with a population of less than 9,000.
However, the clashes between right-wing extremists and leftist groups left at least 11 people injured.
Additional report from Deutsche Welle
[Map of Germany by CIA/PUBLIC DOMAIN]
