Tension rises in Germany, far-right battles asylum-seekers

The mayor of an east German town that became the scene of a battle between right-wing extremists and migrants overnight Wednesday has referred to the incident as a "new dimension" of violence and announced police measures to counter it.

Police broke up a brawl between about 80 right-wing extremist men and women and 20 asylum seekers late Wednesday in the eastern town of Bautzen, highlighting the growing unrest in Germany over the refugee policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The locals were heard shouting that the town belongs to them and chanting the slogan "Wir sind das Volk" (We are the people), first coined by anti-Communist demonstrators before the fall of the Berlin Wall but used more recently during anti-immigrant protests.

Police spokesman Thomas Knaup said that some of the asylum seekers threw bottles and other objects at the officers, who responded with mace and batons and erected a barrier to separate the two groups.

"I sharply condemn the increasingly violent altercations between these individual groups, irrespective of who ... may be responsible in each case," Ahrens told dpa. "I will not tolerate it."

Ahrens added he would introduce "police measures on a massive scale," including the deployment of additional officers and social workers.

After police broke up the brawl, the locals divided themselves up into smaller groups and followed the asylum seekers back to their refugee accommodation.

Officers sealed off the shelter to prevent further violence and ordered three other refugee homes in the surrounding region to be guarded.

One 18-year-old Moroccan national required hospital treatment for cuts to his face, police said. When an ambulance arrived at the scene, it was pelted with stones by right-wing extremists and a second one had to be called before he could be taken to hospital.

The 100-strong police operation started at 9 pm local time on Wednesday and ended at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.

Bautzen has become the scene of several right-wing protests against refugees in recent months.

In February, an extremist mob cheered at a blazing refugee accommodation in the town and prevented fire fighters from dousing the flames. In March, German President Joachim Gauck was subjected to verbal attacks during a town hall meeting about the refugee crisis.

Opposition to Merkel's open-door refugee policy has reached a fever pitch in Germany, which took in some 1.1 million migrants in 2015.