After two Moroccan migrants and an Algerian migrant became involved in an argument with a Ukrainian woman inside an asylum center in the southwest German town of Bensheim, they began to beat the woman, with one of them hitting her in the head with an iron bar.
At that point, a large confrontation involving 50 residents of the asylum center ensued, which resulted in them throwing stones and other objects. Private security called police to the scene after being overwhelmed by the violence.
The Moroccan attackers, aged 16 and 23, and an Algerian aged 16 were reportedly arrested by police, along with other suspects. One of the attackers was injured during the ensuing brawl and transported to the hospital. The 44-year-old female Ukrainian victim, who had only recently arrived at the center, also received medical treatment, according to Bild newspaper.
The Bensheim emergency shelter was erected just a year ago to house up to 1,000 Ukrainians. Currently, about 750 people live at the shelter, but the majority of them come from Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria.
Green Party politician Matthias Schimpf, a member of the district council, criticized the accommodation conditions, saying the “long period of time spent in the accommodation” and the “lack of information regarding transfer to another, smaller accommodation” has sparked frustration among residents.
The district administrator of the county, Christian Engelhardt, who belongs to the Christian Democrats (CDU), laid the blame on Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).
“The situation is getting worse and worse,” he said, adding that there is a lack of “spatial and personnel” resources. Engelhardt said he hopes “these facts will finally be noticed in Berlin.”
As Remix News previously reported, the country’s ongoing migration crisis has left cities and municipalities overwhelmed and led to a sharp increase in rental and housing prices.
Asylum centers in Germany routinely experience conflicts that result in severe injuries. Just last month, the “green” university city of Freiburg saw multiple mass riots break out at an asylum center, which often involved dozens of men attacking each other with knives, sticks and iron bars.
