Tensions in Germany over its controversial refugee policy are soaring again after a string of grisly attacks by migrants on German soil.
The latest came yesterday when a 27-year-old Syrian refugee carried out a suicide attack on a music festival in the south-western town of Ansbach, injuring at least a dozen people (scene pictured above).
Also on Sunday, a 21-year-old Syrian migrant hacked a pregnant woman to death with a machete in killed a pregnant woman in Reutlingen, in the same region of Germany.
The Latest on attacks in Germany: Suicide bomber was to be deported. https://t.co/beRwzDYXkN
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 25, 2016
The previous Monday an Afghan man attacked passengers on the train with an axe, though he did not kill anybody.
However, the most significant attack on Germany soil – Friday’s gun rampage at a mall in Munich – does not seem to be part of this trend, having been carried out by a German citizen, albeit with joint citizenship of Iran.
Many are branding the attacks an inevitable consequence of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow around a million migrants into Germany last summer, at the height of Europe’s refugee crisis.
Earlier this month Merkel herself admitted that her policy was used to “smuggle terrorists” into her country.
To recap: Iranians named Ali can be white supremacists but Mohammeds crying 'Allahu Akbar' cannot be Islamists: https://t.co/E98nYNPw26
— Douglas Murray (@DouglasKMurray) July 25, 2016
However, members of Merkel’s party have pushed back against linking the policy to the attacks.
Parliamentarian Stephan Meyer told the BBC: “You have to differentiate — the events of Friday have nothing to do with our refugee policy. It is completely wrong to blame Angela Merkel and her refugee policy for this incident.”
