A group of over 50 men from migrant backgrounds, armed with various weapons including bats, machetes and iron bars, went on a rampage in the centre of the German city of Duisburg as part of an apparent inter-ethnic conflict.
Around 100 police officers were called in to intervene in the violence, which was described as being an inter-ethnic conflict between the Turkish, Lebanese or Kurdish communities by local law enforcement, Die Welt reports.
Police claimed that 20 to 30 men were gathered on either side of the mass brawl, though other sources have claimed the group may have been as many as 80 individuals. When police arrived they said the group of men hurled insults and threw objects at them before the officers were forced to use tear gas to disperse the mob.
“There are three rival groups. Maybe it’s about a conflict between Turks, Lebanese and Kurds,” a police officer said. A majority of the men involved are thought to have come from the Lebanese community.
Turks And Kurds Battle On Frankfurt Streets As German Army Called Out http://t.co/bB4CwaUKoU pic.twitter.com/y5uK6lQ8F6
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50 people in total were arrested by officers on the scene, with 20 of them kept in custody to prevent any further violence, according to police. Those arrested were said to have various nationalities including Turk, Lebanese and German citizens.
Social Democrat Mayor of Duisburg Sören Link commented on the brawl claiming it was, “incompatible with our understanding of democracy. We all want to live in a peaceful, open and democratic society.”
The mass brawl is not the first to be caught on camera in Germany. Last year a similar brawl between migrants and local residents was also recorded in the town of Peine in Lower Saxony.
Inter-ethnic violence as a result of mass migration has also become a major problem in Germany, especially among members of the Turkish community and the Kurdish community.
In 2016, Turkish ultranationalists clashed with Kurds in Duisburg, with the Turkish Grey Wolves, a militant group, threatening to “conquer” the Kurds.
More recently a series of firebombings of Turkish mosques have been linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group considered to be terrorists in the UK and which is proscribed.
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