State authorities have requested assistance from the German army at the Suhl asylum center, which currently has 500 migrants under quarantine, in the German state of Thuringia, according to in Südthüringen web portal.
After one migrant in the Suhl asylum center tested positive for coronavirus, riots started as other migrants tried to break out of the center last week. Police stated that the migrants threatened to set fires, threw objects at police, used children as human shields, and waved the ISIS flag. Migrants attempting to leave the quarantine were unsuccessful after police prevented them.
Authorities say that the situation has calmed after 22 rioters were sent to a youth detention center.
The German state of Thuringia says it did not request the Bundeswehr, the German army, for security measures.
“It is not about guarding but about securing the supply for the approximately 500 residents who are in quarantine,” said a spokesman for the state government to DPA, the German news agency.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) confirmed the request for German soldiers at a press conference on Thursday.
Kramp-Karrenbauer said it is about an initial reception accommodation in Thuringia, “where the civilian forces, that is, the private security services, are just not available at the moment.”
Around 200 police officers wearing protective clothing due to the risk of coronavirus were deployed to handle the riots inside the asylum center. Interpreters have now been sent inside to inform the migrants housed in the center about the risk of the coronavirus and how they can better protect themselves.
