Germany: After over 100 migrant clan members brawl with knives and sticks in Essen, fears of a wider conflict grow

After rival migrant clans brawled in the German city of Essen, even larger clan groups gathered less than 24 hours later at the same location to fight, resulting in a stabbing that left one man seriously injured. Police officials say the tensions between rival migrant gangs are the main motive behind the clashes, but fears for a more widespread conflict are also growing.

The first mass brawl happened on Saturday and involved approximately 30 people in Essen’s Altendorf district. Police say that during this first incident, a number of arrests were made, but no one was seriously injured and there were no weapons involved. However, over 100 individuals belonging to rival clans then gathered at the same place the next day on Sunday, and this time they were armed with knives and sticks; they also utilized furniture and even plates as weapons during this second melee.

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According to local reports, the trigger for the violence was likely a dispute between two large families. The feud may have been sparked by a Cologne music manager, who has several rappers signed under contract, after he was insulted by a member of another extended family.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of the Interior Herbert Reul has increasingly tried in recent years to take action against gang violence, especially in the Ruhr area, a place where migrant clan crime remains a major problem.

Despite the state making it a priority to fight clan crime, a Die Welt report indicates that “residents of the district have given up hope that the German state can still create order here.”