06 February 2016

Thousands march in anti-Islam Pegida rallies across Europe

A march by Germany's anti-Islamic organisation Pegida drew thousands to the eastern city of Dresden on Saturday with rallies in support of the movement also held in a string of other European cities.

In Prague, about 5,000 people turned out for a Pegida-inspired march organised by two far-Right groups, while in Amsterdam mounted police charged pro- and anti-Pegida groups and arrested at least a dozen people.

Another rally in the northern French port of Calais, home to the infamous "Jungle" refugee camp for migrants seeking passage across the Channel to Britain, brought about 20 arrests, local authorities said.

Police there responded with tear gas after scuffles broke out.

The Pegida group had called for the Saturday rallies, urging supporters to march under the anti-migrant banner of "Fortress Europe".

The group began as a movement in Germany in mid-2014 and has spread to other countries as Europe grapples with its worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. [The Telegraph] Read more