Up in smoke: 45 arson attacks carried out on refugee centers in Germany in 2016

[link to www.rt.com (secure)]

German police have recorded 45 cases of arson at refugee centers across the country since the start of 2016. The majority of attacks were carried out by locals living near the centers.

Holger Munch, president of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), revealed the alarming statistics.

"This year there have already been 45 arson cases at refugee centers," Munch said in an interview with the Funke media group.

Police found that people living near the refugee camps carried out 80 percent of the attacks. However, in April, a Syrian refugee admitted to setting fire to a German shelter where he was staying. He also spray-painted swastikas on the walls to make it look like a political crime.

The asylum seeker said the arson attack in the town of Bingen was in response to poor conditions at the shelter. He wanted to make it look like it had been started by far-right protesters.