The number of crimes against migrants continues to grow throughout Germany, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said, Sputnik reported on Saturday.
"Already in 2015, the number of attacks on refugees and refugee reception centers increased fivefold from 199 to 1031 cases. In the first months of 2016, the situation has further deteriorated,” Maiziere said.
According to the interior minister, since January, 449 attacks on refugee centers have been recorded. In addition, 654 other crimes against migrants have been registered this year, 107 of them including violence, de Maiziere added.
The current migrant crisis in Europe has acted as a catalyst for the growing number of crimes against the immigrants, dividing the country and resulting is the lowering of a “psychological barrier against the use of violence.”
As the refugee crisis unfolded in the European Union in 2015, Germany became a key destination for asylum seekers, with the country admitting some 1.1 million registered migrants last year alone. A series of crimes committed by migrants provoked a surge of protests and anti-migrant violence in Germany.