Riot breaks out at overcrowded refugee camp in Germany after resident tore pages out of the Koran

Around 20 refugees chased the Afghan man who damaged the Muslim Holy Book and threw the discarded pages into the toilet. 

He was eventually saved by the shelter's guards which prompted the mob - according to local media mainly Syrian men - to turn their anger on the camp's security team. 

More than 50 men armed themselves with steel rods and began throwing rocks at guards and policemen.

It comes amid high tensions in Germany as the country prepares to host 800,000 asylum seekers this year.

Germany is struggling to deal with the massive influx of asylum seekers from war zones such as Syria, as well as migrants from countries not at war.

The sudden surge has forced German authorities to house migrants in schools and tents which have been transformed into make-shift shelters.

Local officials have repeatedly raised concerns about overcrowding, saying they were unable to cope with the accelerating demand. 

The state premier for Thuringia, in central Germany, believes different ethnic groups should be separated in refugee homes to prevent such violence erupting again.

Bodo Ramelow also told public broadcaster MDR how the authorities are suffering from the lack of shelters, adding: 'We need to expand our capacity urgently.'

Europe's biggest economy has become the top destination for those fleeing war and persecution.

Berlin now expects to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year - four times more than in 2014.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere is due to meet his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve later Thursday in Berlin to discuss Europe's biggest migrant crisis since the Second World War.

In other developments today, Macedonia declared a state of emergency on its borders over the recent surge of migrants and said it would involve the army to tackle the crisis. 

A column of riot police armed with tear gas and armoured vehicles have shut off the passage at the border town of Gevgelija to several thousand people. 

'No more Macedonia', one officer said in English to a Syrian man trying to enter the country. 

The shutdown came after days of desperate scenes at the local railway station as thousands tried to board trains to Serbia, with young children being passed through open carriage windows.

Interior Ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski said: 'We cannot hermetically close the borders. But we will try to reduce illegal border entry to a minimum.'

He added: 'We expect the involvement of the army will bring two desired effects - it will increase security among our citizens in the two regions and will allow for a more comprehensive approach toward people expressing their interest in applying for asylum.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)