Germany’s far-right stages anti-migration rally in Magdeburg

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Far-right protesters held a rally in Magdeburg following an attack on a Christmas market on Friday evening, which left five people dead and hundreds injured.

Police estimate around 1,000 protesters gathered in the city’s central square and are calling for tighter controls on immigration after German authorities identified the attacker as a Saudi Arabian doctor.

While the protesters were carrying so-called ‘homeland’ flags and banners saying ‘immigration’, slogans such as “Those who do not like Germany should leave Germany” and “We do not want the homes of refugees” were also heard.

According to local media reports, minor scuffles took place between him and the police.

Fears triggered by another act of mass violence suggest that immigration will remain a major issue as Germany heads towards snap elections on February 23.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party was already polling strongly amid a public backlash against the large numbers of refugees and immigrants arriving in Germany over the past decade.

Right-wing figures from across Europe have criticized German authorities for allowing high levels of immigration in the past and for what they now see as a security failure.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his strong anti-immigration stance going back years, used the attack in Germany to attack the European Union’s migration policies.

“There is no doubt that there is a connection between the changing world in Western Europe, the migration flowing there, especially illegal immigration, and terrorist acts,” Orban insisted at his annual press conference in Budapest on Saturday.

Orban vowed to “fight” against the EU’s migration policies because “Brussels wants Magdeburg to happen to Hungary.”