Afghan refugee stabbed in German shelter

The 22-year-old asylum seeker was killed in Hassloch, in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, police said on Tuesday.

Police arrested another 26-year-old Afghan refugee, accused of killing the victim by repeatedly stabbing him with a kitchen knife, the chief prosecutor for the Frankenthal area, Hubert Ströber, told reporters.

"It is possible that the death occurred because of a stab wound," Ströber said.

Investigators said the two Afghans had an argument shortly before midnight on Monday at their asylum home, where they lived with six other refugees. The reasons behind the argument were not immediately clear.

Another similar incident occurred in Kelkheim in Hesse late Monday, where a 21-year-old was wounded after getting into an argument with another refugee. Police arrested a 16-year-old, who is believed to have stabbed the man in the chest.

On Sunday, a fight broke out between several hundred asylum seekers living in Berlin's now-defunct airport Tempelhof. One-hundred-and-twenty policemen were called in to manage the unrest and 20 people were arrested.

Germany's interior ministry says small arguments often escalatae into big fights. Authorities are trying to introduce more German courses and sports activities for refugees, who often spend a large part of their day inside their shelters.

Germany has registered more than one million people seeking asylum so far this year.

mg/msh (AFP, dpa)