Photo credit: BBC
The centre-left government in Germany has decided to impose temporary land border restrictions aimed at controlling irregular migration due to a knife attack and electoral gains made by a far-right party.
Aljazeera reports that the government announced the new restrictions on Monday. The announcement came some days after the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) won elections in the eastern state of Thuringia. It came a close second in the neighbouring state of Saxony.
The elections were held in the shadow of a knife attack, which was allegedly carried out by a Syrian asylum worker, that killed three people in the western city of Solingen.
Nancy Faeser, the Interior Minister, announced on Monday that the controls will start on September 16 and initially last for six months with the option of being renewed.
However, temporary controls will be imposed at the land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark. These restrictions will add to those already in place for Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Switzerland to check immigrants’ arrivals.
The additional checks on the border with Austria will remain in place until November, while measures for Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic will remain in force until December.
