Knife attack fuels bitter German immigration debate

Vivienne Vetter is furious at what she says is an unchecked flood of refugees into her German city of Solingen, blaming it for a deadly knife rampage by a Syrian man.

But Turkish man and Solingen local Kadir Ayten is more concerned Friday's attack at a festival will widen social divisions and cause Germans to become ever more wary of foreigners.

The differing reactions highlight how the attack that killed three and wounded eight is fuelling an already bitter debate about immigration policy, and could further boost the resurgent far right.

Vetter, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Germany for two decades, expressed anger at recently arrived migrants in Solingen who she said "don't learn German".

"They take away childcare places, take away daycare places, take away money, take away flats," the 26-year-old who works in the elder care sector told AFP, adding she herself was struggling to find an affordable apartment.

"If they would integrate, I wouldn't have a problem with it," she adding, noting she lives just minutes' walk from the scene of the attack.

She was among a crowd of Solingen residents who had turned out Monday to see Chancellor Olaf Scholz visit the site of the attack, with many venting their frustration at government asylum policy. While Scholz pledged to tighten immigration rules, Solingen mayor Tim Kurzbach appealed for calm: "It's not just about Solingen -- it's about our country".

The refugee centre housing the alleged attacker, a 26-year-old Syrian who had reportedly arrived in Germany around two years ago, was around just 300 metres (980 feet) from where the violence took place.

A former tax office building, it has been housing migrants since December 2022 as Germany struggled to find space for the huge numbers of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.