Merkel Condemns Xenophobic Riots after Killing of German Man (Video)

The Guardian - The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has condemned two days of far-right street violence that has left several people injured, which flared up after a Syrian and an Iraqi were accused of killing a German man on Sunday.

Some far-right protesters were accused of hunting foreigners in street mobs in the eastern city of Chemnitz, while others were seen with Nazi-linked banners and giving the outlawed straight-arm salute as demonstrations went into their second day.

"Such riotous assemblies, the hunting down of people who appear to be from different backgrounds or the attempt to spread hate in the streets, these have no place in our country," Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Monday.

Marauding far-right mobs assaulted people they believed to be immigrants, according to reports by Agence France-Presse. The local police chief said one Syrian and one Afghan teenager were attacked in separate incidents, though neither was seriously hurt.

According to AFP, police said pyrotechnics and other objects hurled from both sides left several peoplerequiring hospital treatment. Officers moved in with water cannon and urged the crowd to remain calm.