Germany: More than 3 000 attacks on refugees in 2016

German authorities registered almost 10 violent attacks against immigrants daily during the course of 2016. A total of 560 people, 43 of them children, were injured during them.

The German Interior Ministry informed the public of the numbers on 27 February. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is maintaining a helpful approach toward immigrants despite the fact that part of society dislikes it.

Of a total of 3 533 attacks on immigrants, almost 1 000 were committed against the facilities in which they are accommodated. Many attacks involved arson against residential hotel facilities in various parts of Germany.

The remaining 2 545 attacks were directly aimed at individual foreign nationals striving to achieve permanent residence in the country. "People who flee their home countries and seek protection in Germany have the right to expect safe shelter," the German Interior Ministry said in a press release about the statistics, according to the BBC.

The approach toward immigrants has divided German politicians and the public ever since the dramatic growth in asylum-seeker numbers in 2015, when almost a million such people entered the country. Last year, primarily in connection with the EU-Turkey agreement on returning migrants, that number declined to 280 000 in Germany, but the topic will significantly resonate during this year's national Parliamentary elections.