BERLIN   -   Irregular migration into Germany “must go down” after a Syrian man who came to Germany as an asylum seeker was charged with killing three people in an attack in the western town of Solingen last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. “This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” Mr Scholz said during a visit to Solingen on Monday. Mr Scholz also said his government would have to do “everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and should not stay here in Germany are repatriated and deported” and that deportations would be sped up if necessary.

He also promised to tighten laws on weapons ownership “very quickly”.

The political ramifications of the tragedy started reverberating across Germany as soon as officials confirmed the suspect in Friday’s deadly stabbings was a Syrian refugee.

The alleged attacker - named as 26-year-old Issa Al H. - is suspected of links to the terror organisation Islamic State. An already heated debate about migration has become even more ferocious.

A day after the attacks, conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz demanded an end to taking in refugees from Syria and Afghanistan and called for controls on all of Germany’s borders. 



Alice Weidel, leader of the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), has gone a step further and wants a complete stop to all migration.

Experts say such suggestions are not feasible and incompatible with German and European Union law.

Mr Scholz’s governing centre-left SPD party says Germany remains committed to its legal and humanitarian commitments to help those fleeing persecution.

But his government has also pledged to deport migrants who have committed serious crimes and people whose application for asylum has been rejected.

The suspect in the Solingen attack came to Germany in 2022 as a Syrian refugee. Usually Syrians have a good chance of being granted asylum in Germany.

But his application was rejected and he was ordered to be deported to Bulgaria, because he had already registered for asylum there. Officials say when they tried to deport him, they could not locate him and he remained in Germany.