German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to step up deportations on Monday during a visit to Solingen, where a deadly mass stabbing linked to Daesh has emboldened the far-right opposition and stoked criticism of his government’s handling of migration.
“We will have to do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported,” Scholz told reporters in the western city, where he laid a flower at the scene of the crime.
“This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” he added.
The attack, in which a 26-year-old suspected Daesh member from Syria is accused of killing three people, has fuelled political tensions over asylum and deportation rules ahead of three state elections next month.
The group claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on Friday evening during a festival celebrating Solingen’s 650-year history. Alongside the three killed, eight were injured, some seriously.
