Germany to extend border controls to curb irregular migration

BERLIN: Germany will extend temporary controls to all of its borders to crack down on irregular migration into the country, a government source told AFP on Monday.

The decision was also intended to “protect internal security from the current threats posed by Islamist terrorism and cross-border crime”, the source said.

Alongside the extended controls, Germany will also move to make it easier to turn irregular migrants back at the border, the source said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has faced rising pressure to curb migrant numbers and crack down on extremists after several suspected Islamist attacks.

Last month, three people were killed in a knife rampage in the western city of Solingen in which the suspect had alleged ties to the Islamic State group.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party has seized on the attacks and scored historic wins in two formerly communist eastern German states on September 1, as it readies for national elections a year from now.