Syrians, Afghans clash in German refugee centre riot

On Thursday more than 200 migrants fought each other in a mass brawl at a reception centre in Hamburg-Bergedorf.

The massive influx of migrants has put pressure on city authorities to find accommodation.

The Hamburg centre that saw the clash between Syrians and Afghans is located in a large former hardware store and houses 800 people, with more recent arrivals sleeping on mattresses outside.

The move was criticised by Germany’s opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP), with politician Katja Suding saying it is tantamount to a breach of property rights.

The bylaw, passed on Thursday evening, makes Hamburg the first German city to pass such a law, according to the BBC. It allows the Hamburg municipal government to confiscate vacant buildings to shelter refugees during the winter months if the owners refuse to voluntarily hand them over in exchange for compensation. The law does not include residential properties.

As hundreds of refugees cross into the German city of Hamburg each day, a new law will allow for the seizure of empty commercial buildings to house them.

Between 400 and 500 people are reaching Hamburg on a daily basis, putting a strain on accommodation and senate officials have said that the availability of containers and tents is fast diminishing.

According to southern Bavaria state, the main entry point for migrants to Germany, up to 280,000 asylum seekers arrived in Germany in September alone, topping last year’s total.

She has said Germany can accommodate migrants who have genuinely fled war or persecution – a humanitarian gesture towards the many thousands risking their lives to reach Europe this year.

“We are so thankful, so grateful to Germany, but we came to escape violence, and now here there’s violence”. Sunnis are fighting Shiites, there are Salafists from competing groups. Groups based on ethnicity, religion or clan structures go after each other with knives and homemade weapons… “Christians are being massively oppressed and the Sharia is being enforced….”