FRANKFURT MAIN: German police on Sunday took two Afghan nationals into custody on suspicion of killing a 22-year-old German man in a fight in the eastern town of Koethen, prompting calls for calm as anti-migrants tensions flare.

In a short statement, local police and prosecutors said the young man had died late on Saturday and that “two Afghans were provisionally detained on suspicion of homicide”.

They stressed that all lines of inquiry remained open, and that “the concrete circumstances of the event are not yet known”.

The death comes two weeks after the fatal stabbing of a German man, allegedly by two asylum seekers, in the eastern city of Chemnitz sparked anti-foreigner protests and far-right violence, sending shockwaves through Germany.

Holger Stahlknecht, interior minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt where the latest incident happened, told DPA news agency that he deeply regretted “the tragic death” and understood the concerns of citizens.

But he urged residents to “keep a cool head” amid fears of a repeat of the unrest seen in Chemnitz.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2018