Syrian refugee 'started fire and sprayed swastikas to get better hotel room'
A SYRIAN refugee has admitted starting a fire at an asylum centre and spraying swastikas on the walls because he wanted the authorities to move him to a better location.
A 26-year-old Syrian man admitted starting a fire at an asylum centre
The blaze destroyed parts of the hotel, which is being used to process refugees in the town of Bingen am Rhein in south-west Germany.
The apparent racist attack caused outrage in Germany, and was widely reported in local media with demands that those responsible be tracked down and punished.
The swastikas had been sprayed on the wall above an entrance to the cellar of the building.
Malu Dreyer, 55, who is the Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, visited the site to show her solidarity with the victims and posted on Facebook how outraged she was at the destruction.
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The 26-year-old Syrian man reportedly said he was fed up with the cramped living conditions in the hotel
The 26-year-old Syrian man reportedly said he was fed up with the cramped living conditions in the hotel which was also shared with seasonal workers.
He had been living there for six months when he started the fire and allegedly tried to frame far-right groups for the attack.
Some 26 people were inside the hotel, which houses refugees, when the fire broke out
He sprayed the swastikas on the building in the Sponsheim district of the town to make it seem as if members of the far-right were to blame for the arson attack.
Some 26 people were inside the hotel when the fire broke out. Four guests and two firefighters suffered from smoke inhalation.
Swastikas were sprayed over the building
The blaze was started last Thursday, and detectives quickly eliminated a genuine far-right threat.
Other guests in the hotel reportedly identified the refugee and police arrested him.
Angela Merkel's immigration policy has been widely criticised
The Syrian later told police he acted alone.
He is being held in investigative custody on charges of aggravated arson.
Attacks targeting refugees and refugee centres have spiked in Germany in the wake of the New Year's Eve Cologne sex attacks as Angela Merkel's 'open-door policy' has been widely criticised.
Some 1.1million immigrants arrived in Germany last year.