Agency Report –
Würzburg, Germany – The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is to hold an event on Friday in the southern city of Aschaffenburg, where two people were killed in a knife attack earlier this week.
“See you in Aschaffenburg,” wrote the party’s extremist leader in the state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke.
Höcke is seen as the leader of the radical wing within the AfD, and is well known across Germany for his fiery rhetoric, having twice been convicted for knowingly quoting a banned Nazi slogan.
The attack in Aschaffenburg has inflamed tensions over migration ahead of Germany’s election next month.
The suspect in the stabbing, which also left three people seriously injured, is a 28-year-old Afghan national who was due to be deported.
The AfD, which is currently second in the polls, is to hold a meeting from 4 pm (1500 GMT) in the city’s Schöntal park, where the attack took place on Wednesday.
The city’s central memorial service is set to take place on Sunday, with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Bavarian Premier Markus Söder among those planning to attend.
It was initially unclear whether relatives of the victims would also be attending.
An alliance of local organizations is planning an event at the city’s Theaterplatz on Saturday to oppose the politicization of the tragedy, with Mayor Jürgen Herzing due to give a speech
An initial commemoration in the park on Thursday drew some 3,000 people, police said.
