BERLIN: The number of violent attacks on refugees and asylum shelters in Germany has fallen sharply in the first half of this year, data from the interior ministry seen by Reuters showed on Sunday.

Police registered 704 such cases from January to June, down more than a third from the 1,127 reported in the first six months of 2017, according to the figures.

There were 77 attacks on asylum shelters and 627 attacks on refugees, with 120 people being injured in the first half of this year, the data showed.

The criminal offences committed included dangerous bodily harm, arson, property damage and incitement.

The influx of more than one million refugees, mainly fleeing from war zones in the Middle East, in 2015 and 2016 has led to an increase in attacks on asylum shelters in Germany. But the number of new arrivals has gone down since last year.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2018