Suspected neo-Nazi's arson attack burns down refugee shelter in Germany

A shelter for Ukrainian refugees in northern Germany was razed to the ground in a blaze, local media reported.

None of the 14 refugees dwelling in the shelter were injured on Wednesday evening as the flames consumed the building, once used as a hotel, in Gross Stromkendorf, a town in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The Rostock police headquarters said in a statement that they suspected a political dimension to the arson case, setting up an investigation team led by the acting head of the state protection unit.

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Swastika spray painted 

Police had visited the accommodation during the weekend after a swastika was found spray painted on the entrance sign, according to local media reports.

District official Tino Schomann told reporters: "From my many years of experience as a firefighter, I currently assume that the fire was set intentionally."

According to the fire department, the emergency services had to allow the building to burn down in a controlled manner, as it could no longer be saved.

The refugees were moved by the district to other accommodations.

The blaze, in the sparsely populated, poor eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, took place near where, in August 1992, hundreds of far-right radicals rioted against asylum seekers for two days, throwing petrol bombs at their encampments, in post-war Germany's worst anti-immigrant mob attacks.

The events triggered copycat attacks all over Germany, including the burning down by neo-Nazis of a Turkish family's house in Solingen. 

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