17/10/2016 By micoots 0

Anti-Islam Group PEGIDA Suffers Massive Fall In Protestors

Supporters of the anti-Islam movement PEGIDA march to protest against the German government during celebrations marking the German Unification Day in Dresden on October 3.Reuters

The latest march in Germany by the anti-Islam protest group PEGIDA drew a fraction of the supporters who turned out for previous rallies.

More than 6,500 people turned out for the peaceful march in Dresden yesterday, where they were supervised by 1,700 police.

This compared with as many as 25,000 in Dresden rallies last year.

The group, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, was set up after nearly one million migrants were allowed to relocate to Germany last year. More than 200,000 have arrived this year so far. Yesterday's march marked the group's second anniversary.

While backing for PEGIDA appears to be falling, the Alternative for Germany party which campaigns from an anti-immigration platform is increasing hugely.

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The German newspaper Bild reported a poll that the party is currently on course to win 13 per cent of the vote, more than twice the 5 per cent normally needed to gain representation in the German parliament.

Some in the crowd carried flags bearing slogans such as "Refugees not welcome" and chanted "Merkel must go", according to The Guardian.

According to the German analysis group Durchgezählt, more than 6,500 people attended the march.

Bei Pegida in Dresden demonstrieren heute schätzungsweise zwischen 6500 und 8500 Menschen. Ermittelt per Flächenschätzung (~6000qm) #dd1610 pic.twitter.com/iUxusLApab

— Durchgezählt (@durchgezaehlt) October 16, 2016

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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