Germans, Foreigners Clash in Small Town as Tension Increases
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BERLIN — Growing racial tensions in a small, eastern German town led to a bloody street battle involving hundreds of Germans, Mozambicans and Vietnamese, officials said Friday.
Seventeen people were injured, three of them seriously, and 24 Germans were arrested during the Thursday evening brawl in the city of Hoyerswerda, a police spokesman said.
About 600 Germans battled 200 Vietnamese and Mozambicans with firebombs, clubs and bottles during the street battles, which followed several days of confrontations in the city, he said.
It was perhaps the biggest single clash since former East Germany began experiencing a surge in right-wing extremism and violence against foreigners last year.
The increase has been blamed on the region’s dire economic problems as it struggles with the transition to a free market and the growing number of refugees seeking better lives in the West.
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