PEGIDA supporters hold Europe-wide protests against refugees

Supporters of the German far-right anti-Islam PEGIDA movement took to the streets of several cities across Europe on Saturday to express their opposition to the influx of refugees into the continent.

PEGIDA, a German acronym that stands for the “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West,” has capitalized on the ongoing flow of asylum seekers into Europe to warn about the future of the continent.

It had called for the Saturday protests, urging its supporters to march under the anti-immigration banner of "Fortress Europe."

With approximately 2,000 attendees, the largest event was held in the city of Dresden, eastern Germany, which is the home town of the far-right offshoot.

There were also anti-refugee demonstrations in Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Ireland, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In Birmingham, Britain, between 100 and 300 protesters took part in the silent PEGIDA demonstration.

In Calais, France, which is home to the infamous "Jungle" refugee camp for those seeking passage across the Channel Tunnel to the UK, some 150 demonstrators defied a ban on protests and clashed with police.

The French police dispersed the Calais protest with tear gas and arrested about 20 people, local authorities said.

PEGIDA was caught in a series of scandals, prompting mass resignation among its leaders and the movement's disappearance from the German political scene last year.

The far-right movement, however, has made a comeback in the wake of the refugee influx which has caught Europe off guard.

Meanwhile, counter demonstrations were held in several European cities on the same day, with protesters calling for asylum seekers to be welcomed.

Hundreds of people marched through Dresden under the motto "Solidarity instead of exclusion" while carrying placards reading "No place for Nazis."

Lynn Boylan, a Member of the European Parliament for Dublin, representing the Sinn Fein political party, addressed a pro-refugee demonstration in Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland.

"We are standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity to show that there is no place in Ireland for racism and Islamophobia,” she said, adding, "There is no place in Ireland for hate.”

Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees who are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.

Many blame major European powers for the unprecedented exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in the violence-hit regions, forcing more people out of their homes.

More than one million refugees have reached Europe’s shores in 2015, while over 3,700 people either died or have gone missing in their perilous journey to the continent, according to figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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