Violence breaks out at German refugee center

The "tumultuous scene" took place over the weekend at a refugee center in the town of Bad Säckingen in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, according to local authorities.

At least three people were injured in the mass brawls, one of them seriously, a Freiburg police spokesperson said on Monday, noting that "a considerable number of people" took part in the unrest. Four people involved in the violence were temporarily arrested.

The first fighting at the center was reported on Saturday a little after 10 p.m. local time. Police arrived to find many of the refugees in an aggressive mood and some already lightly injured. On Sunday, more fighting broke out throughout the day.

"Apparently some of the residents received support from some of the other refugee homes and the different nationalities attacked each other," Freiburg's police said in its written statement.

Though a motive for the unrest is still unclear, police suspect it was sparked by tensions between different groups of refugees.

The incident comes as the community in that part of Germany grapples with the rape and murder of a 19-year-old student, allegedly by a teenage refugee. Her suspected killer is a 17-year-old refugee who arrived in Germany from Afghanistan in 2015.

The ensuing anger from members of the community led many Afghan asylum seekers in Freiburg to publicly apologize for the crime.

blc/msh (AFP, dpa)