Germany's Scholz vows to increase deportations after visit to Solingen mass stabbing site

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government was looking at more ways to increase the rate of deportations during a visit to the site of a deadly mass stabbing carried out by a suspected Islamic State group member from Syria. Speaking during the visit, Scholz said that deportations had already increased by some two thirds compared to 2021 levels.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to step up deportations on Monday during a visit to Solingen, where a deadly mass stabbing linked to the Islamic State group has emboldened the far-right opposition and stoked criticism of his government's handling of migration.

"We will have to do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported," Scholz told reporters in the western city, where he laid a flower at the scene of the crime.

"This was terrorism, terrorism against us all," he added.

The attack, in which a 26-year-old suspected Islamic State group member from Syria is accused of killing three people, has fuelled political tensions over asylum and deportation rules ahead of three state elections next month.

A government spokesperson said the deportation plan had "failed in practice" rather than on any legal basis.

(Reuters)


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