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German police probing 'arson' at Ukrainian refugee housing

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
German police probing 'arson' at Ukrainian refugee housing
Firefighters battle flames at a refugee shelter in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania on Wednesday evening. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jens Büttner

A fire broke out at a building housing Ukrainian refugees in eastern Germany, police said Thursday, adding that they were investigating the case as arson.

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The inhabitants of the thatched-roof building in Gross Strömkendorf village in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania were able to evacuate unhurt, police said.

The fire broke out at around 9:00pm on Wednesday, setting off an alarm.

German media reported that passers-by also alerted the manager of the site as he went to check on the fire alarm.

It remained unclear how the fire started, but local media reported that police had already visited the accommodation before because of a swastika graffiti painted on its entrance sign.

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Germany has taken in around a million refugees from Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

Unlike during the migrant crisis in 2015, when several cases of refugee shelters were firebombed by extremists, there have been few criminal incidents affecting Ukrainians seeking protection.

Friedrich Merz, the leader of the opposition CDU, was forced to apologise after he accused Ukrainian refugees of "welfare tourism".

A refugee shelter in the German town of Apolda caught fire in early October, with no one hurt as the building was empty at the time.

Investigators initially suspected a criminal act, but later said it could have been an accident.

READ ALSO: ‘It feels like a dream’: The Ukrainian refugees arriving in Berlin from war zone

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