Mass pro-refugee rally held in Dresden

Thousands of people took to the streets of Desden, Germany on Saturday to send a strong message of support to refugees in reaction to a string of violent anti-migrant protests in the region.

Led by protesters holding a huge banner that read “Prevent the pogroms of tomorrow today”, the crowds marched peacefully through the eastern German city under the watch of police.  

“Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here,” they chanted.

Police claim that 1,000 people took part in the protest,  while the Anti-Nazi Alliance – organisers of the protest – put the figure closer to 5,000.

“We’re here because what is happening in Germany, particularly in Saxony, is unbearable,” demonstrator Eva Mendl, a teacher, said. “Hating refugees, who live here because they can no longer live at home, because they have been through a war … that shouldn’t happen in a rich country.”

Dresden is the hub of the anti-Islam Pegida movement, whose protests drew up to 25,000 people at the start of the year.

A record 800,000 asylum seekers are expected to arrive in Germany this year - more than in any other EU country.

The eastern state of Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital, has recently been the location of several anti-refugee protests, and the government said on Friday that it was sending police reinforcements to the state.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was booed when she visited a refugee centre in the nearby town of Heidenau earlier this week, with around 200 people shouting “traitor, traitor” at her.

Merkel has vowed a zero-tolerance approach to anti-migrant violence.

A poll by public broadcaster ZDF has shown that public opinion is broadly behind her, with 60% of Germans saying that Europe's biggest economy was capable of hosting the increasing number of asylum-seekers.