Rightists Torch Tent City For Refugees in Germany

BERLIN Right-wing protesters burned down a tent city for refugeesas Germany grappled again Sunday with a surge of racist violence.

Police agencies reported neo-Nazi attacks in at least eightcities, mostly in economically depressed eastern Germany. Theattacks were a continuation of anti-foreigner outbursts in 10 citiesSaturday.

At least 26 people were arrested and a dozen injured Sunday.About 180 arrests were reported the day before.

The weekend of violence by young, right-wing radicals wasinspired by five days of attacks last week on refugee homes andclashes with police in the Baltic Sea city of Rostock in former EastGermany.

Saturday, about 13,000 people marched under tight security inRostock to denounce the violence. Ninety people were arrested onweapons and other charges.

The last week has been the most harrowing for foreigners inGermany in the past two years, as the neo-Nazi movement - composedmostly of uneducated, apolitical young people - has begunsystematically attacking Slavs, Africans, Arabs and Asians.

The surge in violence has coincided with a huge influx ofrefugees into Germany. This year could see a doubling of last year'srecord 256,000 asylum-seekers.