A horrific car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany has left at least five people dead and the city in shock. The attack, which occurred on Friday night, has revived memories of a similar assault in 2016 that killed over a dozen people at a Christmas market in Berlin.
The suspect, Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, is a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian native who had lived in Germany since 2006 and worked as a consultant psychiatric doctor. However, he is also an avowed atheist and anti-Islam, who expressed support for the far-right AfD party and repeated his own frustrations with immigration policies.
Despite not fitting the expected security profile of a typical terrorist attack, many Germans are still rallying behind anti-immigration rhetoric. Local residents have taken to social media to express their anger towards politicians, calling for stricter border controls.
German politicians from both ends of the political spectrum have seized on the attack to attack the coalition government’s immigration policies. The far-right AfD party has announced a rally in Magdeburg, and its parliamentary chief is demanding a special session be called to discuss security matters.
The attack has reignited Germany’s anti-immigration mood, despite Abdulmohsen being an avowed Islamophobe. This has raised concerns about the country’s response to extremism and whether it can effectively address growing tensions around immigration.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/22/europe/anti-immigrant-anger-magdeburg-market-attack-intl/index.html