Berlin: Some 50 people at a German shelter for asylum seekers engaged in a violent brawl overnight, hurling chairs and beating each other with table legs, leaving six people injured, police said today.
The punch-up, which took place in the northern town of Itzehoe, was the latest illustration of the rising tensions between refugees at the country's overstretched reception centres.
The dispute broke out during the evening meal on Friday when an Arabic-speaking refugee insulted a group of Kurds, a police statement said. The confrontation quickly escalated, drawing in around 50 people who threw tables, chairs and benches and beat each other with table legs.
Security guards tried to break up by fight by using pepper spray and around 50 police and six dogs were called in as backup.
Four asylum seekers were treated for head injuries and two security guards sustained light injuries, the statement said.
Two young Kurds -- one Syrian and one Iraqi -- as well as a Syrian were arrested after being singled out as the main instigators, with police saying they would be transferred to "other centres around the country".
Such incidents have multiplied at refugee centres across Germany, which is expecting to receive up to a million asylum requests by the end of the year and is struggling to accommodate everyone.
Meanwhile, Greek coastguard officials pulled 37 migrants to safety from a foundering boat in choppy seas off the Aegean island of Lesbos, port officials said.
The rescue came a day after 17 children drowned when three boats went down in the same area, along with nine adults as the flow of people seeking to reach Europe by sea showed no sign of easing, despite the onset of winter.
The punch-up, which took place in the northern town of Itzehoe, was the latest illustration of the rising tensions between refugees at the country's overstretched reception centres.
The dispute broke out during the evening meal on Friday when an Arabic-speaking refugee insulted a group of Kurds, a police statement said. The confrontation quickly escalated, drawing in around 50 people who threw tables, chairs and benches and beat each other with table legs.
Four asylum seekers were treated for head injuries and two security guards sustained light injuries, the statement said.
Advertisement
Such incidents have multiplied at refugee centres across Germany, which is expecting to receive up to a million asylum requests by the end of the year and is struggling to accommodate everyone.
Advertisement
The rescue came a day after 17 children drowned when three boats went down in the same area, along with nine adults as the flow of people seeking to reach Europe by sea showed no sign of easing, despite the onset of winter.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"UN Agency Is Lying": Rwanda Denies Claims On UK Asylum Seekers Asylum Seekers Arriving In UK By Sea Top 10,000 This Year: Data UK Confirms First Migrants Held For Rwanda Deportation Flights Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing "Pivotal Moment": Key Doctor Body Resumes Strike 2 Days After Calling It Off Leaders React To NDTV Story Which Led To Probe Into Man's Dissappreance "Education No More Affordable:" Bengaluru Man Reacts To Rs 3.7 Lakh LKG Fee Woman Shares Series Of Harassment Incidents On Delhi-NCR Streets Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.