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"We will have to do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported," Chancellor Scholz told reporters as he laid a flower at the scene of the crime. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday (Aug 26) vowed to step up deportations as he paid a visit to Solingen, where a deadly mass stabbing linked to Islamic State (ISIS) killed three people and injured eight others. "We will have to do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported," Chancellor Scholz told reporters as he laid a flower at the scene of the crime. "This was terrorism, terrorism against us all," he added. The stabbing, which took place on August 23, has stoked criticism of the Scholz government's handling of migration. The attacker was a 26-year-old Syrian man, who arrived in Germany in December 2022. He had a protected immigration status often given to those fleeing war-torn Syria. Also read | Knife attack in Germany's Solingen: Prosecutors launch anti-terror probe The attack, which occurred during the celebration of the "Festival of Diversity" in Solingen, has fuelled political tensions over asylum and deportation rules ahead of three state elections next month. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which campaigns for a crackdown on migration, is leading in the polls in Saxony and Thuringia, where state elections are set for Sunday, and in Brandenburg, which has its election on September 22, a report by the news agency Reuters said. The AfD seized on the attack in its election campaign, with Thuringia's leading candidate for the party, Bjoern Hoecke, pitching to voters the choice of "Hoecke or Solingen." On Monday, Scholz said that deportations had increased by some two-thirds compared to 2021 levels. "But that is no reason for us to sit back and relax," he added, saying the government was looking at legal and practical ways to boost the numbers. Authorities had planned to deport the suspect in the August 23 attack to Bulgaria last year under European Union asylum rules, Reuters reported, citing local media. The deportation was unsuccessful because the man had not been at his refugee accommodation when authorities tried to carry out the measure. (With inputs from agencies) Newsman. MMA Striker. None
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