4 Germans charged with planning attacks against refugees

Germany has charged four people with setting up a far-right terror group seeking to carry out a bomb attack on a refugee shelter.

On Wednesday, German prosecutors said three men and one woman have been accused of forming a “terrorist organization” which went by the name Oldschool Society.

The group, which had been formed some two years ago, planned to attack a refugee shelter in the city of Borna, southeast of Leipzig, with explosives last May, said the prosecutors, adding that the four were arrested on May 6, 2015, before they could carry out the attack.

All of the terror suspects are currently behind bars pending trial.

Leipzig has been the scene of anti-refugee protest rallies over the past year. Far-right activists and xenophobes in Germany, a top refugee destination, are angry at Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to open the country’s doors to asylum seekers.

Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees who are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.

Officials in European countries are struggling to forge a united response to the record numbers of refugees.

According to figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than one million refugees reached Europe’s shores in 2015. More than 3,300 people either died or went missing in their perilous journey to the continent.

Many blame major European powers for the exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and wars, forcing more people out of their homes.

Thousands of the militants who have joined the ranks of the terror group Daesh in Syria and Iraq, are from the European countries.