Fears of 'second Chemnitz' as Afghans held over German man's death

World
Europe

German officials pleaded for calm as around 2,500 right-wing demonstrators marched in eastern Germany on Sunday after two Afghans were detained on suspicion of killing a German man in a fight, fueling fears of fresh anti-foreigner unrest after racist violence shook the city of Chemnitz.

Local police and prosecutors said the 22-year-old victim had suffered acute heart failure after coming to blows with the Afghan suspects during a dispute on a playground in the town of Koethen late Saturday.

The German man's death was "not directly" linked to the injuries suffered in the brawl, they said in a statement, and media reports said he died in hospital and that he had a pre-existing heart condition.

Prosecutors said one of the Afghan suspects, aged 18, stands accused of causing grievous bodily harm. The other, aged 20, faces charges of causing bodily harm with fatal consequences.

People mourn beside flowers at a playground in Koethen, eastern Germany, after the killing of a German man, September 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

'Second Chemnitz' feared

The incident was expected to inflame anti-migrant tensions, coming just two weeks after the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German man in the city of Chemnitz, allegedly by two asylum seekers.

"With emotions running high, we have to resist any attempt to turn Koethen into a second Chemnitz," said the state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff.

Chemnitz has been rocked by a series of far-right demonstrations that saw participants assault foreign-looking people and shout anti-immigration slurs while some flashed the illegal Nazi salute.

Immediately after news of the latest incident broke, right-wing groups called on social media for a "mourning march" in Koethen from 7:00 p.m. Far-left groups vowed to hold a counter-demo.

Local police and prosecutors stressed that "the concrete circumstances of the event are not yet known" and that all lines of inquiry remained open.

Fearful of a repeat of the Chemnitz unrest, politicians in the state of Saxony-Anhalt urged residents to keep a cool head.

People attend a right-wing protest in Koethen, Germany, after two Afghans are detained on suspicion of killing a German man, September 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

'Keep calm'

State interior minister Holger Stahlknecht said on Twitter that he deeply regretted "the tragic death" and understood citizens' concerns.

But he urged residents to "keep calm" and allow justice to take its course.

Mayor Bernd Hauschild, in a Facebook message, urged locals to shun the right-wing demo because he had "information that people prepared to use violence were planning to travel to Koethen in large numbers."

Bild newspaper said around 100 federal police officers were travelling to Koethen to help keep the peace, after police were criticized for underestimating the scale of the Chemnitz demos.

(Cover: People attend a right-wing protest in Koethen, Germany, after two Afghans are detained on suspicion of killing a German man, September 9, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP