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 41-year-old Syrian migrant, who arrived in Germany back in 2015, is accused of setting fire to two buildings before ramming a store with a van and embarking on a rampage with a machete. https://t.co/BVNRO7TwdA
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 30, 2024The 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.
🇫🇷🔥A Sudanese migrant won't be deported despite his conviction for serial arson attacks in the city of Pau, France.
🚒 He burned down an entire apartment building full of students, with one young student, Laurence, forced to jump from her window, breaking both her ankles in the… pic.twitter.com/DNS7ABqWaz
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 10, 2024The 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.
Algerian national arrested for arson attack that killed young Parisian firefighter.https://t.co/i8g3Y7kInM
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 26, 2023This 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.
A Yemeni migrant injured his pregnant girlfriend and her daughter in an arson attack on her apartment building in Austria. https://t.co/DLBygmIdcY
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 28, 2024A 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.
