SOUNGEN (Germany). June 5: Tena of thousands of people took to the streets across Germany on Saturday, showing their anger and sorrow over the neo-Nazi slayings of four Turkish girls and a woman a week ago. reports AP.
Police fought running battles with rock throwing troublemakers at the rally tn Solin^n
New arson attacks against a Turkish home and a Turkish restaurant revived fears that neo-Nazi violence will spread further.
Federal police rushed to investigate the fire at a house in the western German city of Hattingen. A separate Investigation was underway at a heavily damaged Turkish restaurant tn the southern city of Konstanz.
German politicians, teem ingiy at a loss for answers, are scrambling to contain the unrest at home and the damage to the country's image abroad.
Earlier Saturday, chief federal prosecutor Alexander von Stahl announced charges against three young men in the killings of the five Turks In Solingen. The May 29 crime is reunited Germany's most deadly neo-Nazi violence to date.
Von Stahl said charges of murder, attempted murder and arson were filed against a teenager and two men in their early 201
Those killings sparked a week of riots and protests, and led to the nationwide demonstrations on Saturday.
In Solingen, more than 6,000 demonstrators began marching into the city center shortly before noon. Several thousand more Joined them as the day drew on.
Shortly after 3 pm riot-equipped police clashed with hard-core German leftists and young Turkish protesters, leav tng the rally in chaos. Many of the protesters hurled bottles and rocks at the police.
Germans and Turks had Joined tn the protest marches. Several demonstrators carried two mock coffins draped in black cloths inscribed with the word "Asylum," a protest against Germany's decision to restrict its asylum policy for refugees.
Most store fronts were boarded up to protect windows that had not yet been broken. Signs on the boarded up windows read "No Hate —No Violence," in German and Turkish.
Demonstrations also took place in other German cities.