ANGRY mobs of protesters have clashed with cops in Germany in the wake of the Magdeburg Christmas market massacre.
People stormed through the city following the arrest of a refugee Saudi doctor who is suspected of killing four women and a nine-year-old boy in the rampage.
The protest groups quickly formed late last night with around 1,000 demonstrators marching through the capital of Saxony-Anhalt.
A giant banner with the word “remigration” scrawled across it led the march as participants demanded mass deportations.
Many of them could be heard shouting: “Anyone who doesn’t love Germany should leave Germany.”
Others made demands to “take back” their “homeland”.
Across the evening’s protests, a few minor fights broke out as people brawled with cops.
One image showed a man being detained by riot police who had kept a close eye on those roaming the streets.
The people involved were described as right-wing extremists and hooligans, by German outlet Bild.
Nine-year-old André Gleißner and four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 all died in the fatal car attack.
Over 205 are said to be still injured with dozens of them in a serious condition, according to officials.
There were premature claims that suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was an Islamist terrorist before it was later revealed that he had anti-Islamic views.
Cops are yet to release a possible motive but have revealed the man is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor.
The driver fled the Middle East to Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status some years later, officials added.
It was then discovered by local media that al-Abdulmohsen was actually an ex-Muslim, according to his own social media posts.
Other troubling posts uncovered appeared to show how he disliked how Germany was leading the “Islamisation of Europe”.
He is also believed to be a supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) movement.
German interior minister Nancy Faeser later labelled the suspect Islamophobic.
As prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens believes the motive for the attack may be “dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia and how they are being treated in Germany”.
The AfD have called for a major rally to be held soon with co-leader Tino Chrupalla telling Interior Minister Nancy Faeser they demand to feel safe in public places.
She told media at the makeshift memorial site for the victims: “I am now demanding answers from the interior minister.
“What is actually going on here in this country? We put up with it week after week, we put up with attacks, we put up with murders of our own people.”
Germany has been rocked by the surging far-right support in recent months.
Many of the groups claim the issues revolve around ex-chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 “open door” policy.
This saw over a million asylum seekers cross into Germany and stay in the country.
Social media posts by al-Abdulmohsen even reference Merkel and the plan as he wished she would be jailed for life over it.
Despite the protests, thousands more came together to celebrate the lives of the victims and pay their respects.
Mourners, government officials and emergency service workers all joined up at a moving memorial service at Magdeburg Cathedral.
Candles were lit in solidarity as hundreds of flowers and cuddly toys were laid outside in a makeshift mural.
The touching moments came hours before the first victim was named.
Nine-year-old André Gleißner was pictured as his mum led the tributes for her “little teddy bear”.
More than £41,000 has been raised in just two days in a GoFundMe for the little boy.
Four other women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 were also killed.
Officials are still fearing the number of deaths could rise with 41 of those injured still in serious condition.
The doctor was hauled into court by armed cops last night and now faces five murder charges.
Along with the five counts of murder, al-Abdulmohsen is also being investigated over 205 counts of suspected attempted murder and inflicting grievous bodily harm, prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said.
Source : https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/32433108/right-wing-protesters-clash-german-cops-saudi-doctor/