German Neo-Nazis Burn Tent City as Violence Continues

BERLIN —  Rightist thugs burned down a tent city for refugees in Leipzig and rumbled with police as Germany grappled again Sunday with racist violence.

Police agencies reported neo-Nazi attacks in at least eight cities, most of them in economically depressed eastern Germany.

At least 26 people were arrested and a dozen hurt Sunday. Roughly 180 arrests were reported during confrontations the day before.

The weekend of violence by young, right-wing radicals was inspired by five days of attacks on refugee homes and clashes with police in the Baltic Sea city of Rostock in former East Germany. On Saturday, about 15,000 people, including leftists, marched under tight security in Rostock to denounce the violence.

Police said Sunday that authorities may take legal action against some foreign television crews accused of paying German youngsters to give the straight-armed “Hitler salute” in Rostock on Saturday. Officials would not identify the television channels but quoted residents as saying they were American and French.