Arson attack destroys planned German refugee center
An arson attack on a gym, intended to become a shelter for asylum seekers, has taken place in southwest Germany, leaving the place uninhabitable.
The planned accommodation center for refugees which could house 400 people in Wertheim, located in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, is no longer inhabitable and the Sunday attack put it on the verge of collapse, police in the nearby city of Heilbronn said, adding that it was impossible to enter the building because of the fire damage.
With a population of 22,000, Wertheim, has already an accommodation center for 600 asylum seekers, but with the elimination of the gym, it can shelter no more refugees.
“No more refugees will come to Wertheim, as there is no additional emergency accommodation,” Hermann Schroeder from the Baden-Wuerttemberg state government said.
No one has yet been arrested for the overnight attack, which is the last case in a series of arson attacks carried out on buildings designated for asylum seekers in Germany.
The attack came as Gerda Hasselfeldt, a senior member of parliament in Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), endorsed tighter rules on granting asylum.
“Those who are not in danger should leave Germany as quickly as possible… We have to set clear priorities. We need our energy and resources for those who are fleeing war and persecution,” She said in a recent interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, to be published on Monday.
Germany has become top destination for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing misery in war-ravaged coutries such as Syria.
The country is expecting up to a million refugees in 2015, up from 200,000 last year.
Many of the asylum seekers reach Germany after taking a perilous route through the Balkans and Central Europe.
On Friday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said over 442,440 refugees have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year, 2,921 of whom have reportedly lost their lives during the perilous journey.
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