Posted on November 27, 2024

Algerian Arrested for Attempted Mass Murder After Burning Down German Asylum Center, Injuring 16

Thomas Brooke, Remix, November 27, 2024

An Algerian migrant has been arrested in Germany, accused of burning down his asylum accommodation center and injuring 16 people.

The fire erupted on Saturday evening in the loft space of the building in Schleiden-Vogelsang, North Rhine-Westphalia, resulting in flames several meters high.

According to WDR, around 110 firefighters from Schleiden, Kall, and Hellenthal battled adverse weather conditions to contain the blaze, and a rescue helicopter was dispatched to the scene but was ultimately not used.

The building was completely destroyed and two adjacent houses were also rendered uninhabitable due to the damage and smoke contamination.

A total of 57 residents were evacuated and relocated to nearby shelters, but 16 people sustained injuries, including burns and smoke inhalation, and required hospital treatment.

The suspect, a 35-year-old Algerian national who was also a resident of the facility, is facing charges including seven counts of attempted murder, serious arson, and grievous bodily harm.

Local police confirmed the arrest of the man but did not provide any further details regarding a motive.

A homicide squad is leading the investigation into the fire, which authorities believe was deliberately set.

This incident marks the second suspected arson attack at the facility in less than a year. A similar fire occurred in January 2024, which was also attributed to arson.

Notably, asylum seekers have burned down their own asylum accommodations countless times across Europe. Sometimes the motive has been anger over their living situation, disputes with other residents, and in many cases, these arson attacks have been the result of efforts to be relocated to other EU nations, particularly for migrants in asylum camps in Greece and Italy.

Remix News report from 2020 detailed the numerous examples of migrants burning down their own asylum centers.

For example, in 2017, five migrants were arrested for a suspected arson attack after “setting fire to a mattress” inside the Hoevelhof-Staumuhle migrant facility in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, resulting in 50 people being injured and €10 million in damage. A Red Cross worker said later that the migrants burned down the facility because they were furious over a lack of Gummi Bears and Nutella available in the facility during nighttime hours.

In 2016, after a migrant housing facility was burned down in Düsseldorf, authorities said they were investigating six migrants for arson in relation to the fire.

Also in 2016, when authorities moved to evacuate the migrant camp in France’s Calais, migrants burned down large portions of it in a last act of “defiance”.

In 2017, a fire broke out during a fight between migrants in a France’s Grande-Synthe camp near Dunkirk that left 1,500 migrants homeless. Ten people were reported injured in the blaze.