Advertisement

Salafists aim propaganda at young refugees

AFP/DPA/The Local
AFP/DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Salafists aim propaganda at young refugees
Male refugees sit outside an accommodation centre in Gießen, Hesse. Photo: DPA

Muslim radicals in Germany are trying to recruit some of the growing numbers of asylum seekers reaching the country, according to intelligence services quoted by the German news agency DPA.

Advertisement

The Islamic extremists "are trying to approach the young unaccompanied refugees, who arrive in our country without their families and are particularly looking for contacts and support," a spokesman for the intelligence service in the southern state of Bavaria told DPA.

He said many of the youths are approached around reception centres but also at Munich railway station where many of the asylum seekers have arrived from Hungary and Austria in recent days.

The Islamic extremists "want to take advantage of the insecurity and distress of the refugees," he said.

On Tuesday, the intelligence services in North Rhine-Westphalia reported similar contacts in their region, noting that Islamic radicals were approaching asylum seekers through fake charities.

"We are going to inform the employees of the reception centres and make them aware of this situation and the methods used for these attempts to approach" the young refugees, said a spokesman in the state, also quoted by DPA.

Under the quota system in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria are the two regions that receive the most asylum seekers, with 21 percent and 15 percent respectively.

Germany expects to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year, four times more than last year.

Syrians, who are fleeing their war-torn country, form the largest group.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also