Thousands of anti-asylum protesters marched through the German city of Dresden on Saturday, the day that the Islamophobic Pegida called on supporters to rally at locations across Europe.
In Dresden, where Pegida protests frequently attract thousands of supporters, there was a high police presence, as officers sought to keep the peace between the group's supporters and hundreds of counter-demonstrators.
Police have yet to release their estimates on how many people took part in the rivalling protests. Earlier Saturday they said that around 25,000 people were expected to take to the streets in total and some participants had been flagged as potentially violent.
No scuffles have been reported in Dresden.
The Pegida rally in the eastern German city was punctuated by chants of "Merkel must go," as protesters lashed out at Chancellor Angela Merkel's role in allowing over 1 million asylum seekers to enter Europe last year.
Pegida, a German acronym for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, has announced a day of international rallies against Muslims and migrants on Saturday.
The chain of protests began in Canberra, where 400 people marched towards the parliament building in the Australian capital, shouting Islamophobic slogans such as "We love bacon" and "Who the hell is Allah?"
In Prague, the Pegida offshoot event turned violent as right-wingers clashed with left-wing opponents. Several hundred police officers were deployed to separate the two camps, who threw bottles and fireworks at one another.
Around 1,500 anti-Islam protesters turned out to support Pegida there, carrying barriers reading "No to immigration - stop Merkelization."
"Islam is not a religion, it is a fascist ideology," one demonstrator told dpa.
Numbers in Prague did not meet organizers' expectations. They had previously said that several thousands would join their cause.
Around 400 people protested against Pegida in the Czech capital and campaigned for solidarity with refugees seeking protection and a better life in Europe.
"We want to fight against the growing xenophobia in Czech society," a counter-demonstrator said.
Others carried signs reading "Hate solves no problems" and "Refugees welcome."
Other cities hosting Pegida protests on Saturday include Warsaw, Tallinn, Bratislava, Amsterdam, Dublin and Birmingham.
Supporters of the Pegida movement (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident) hold placards featuring Angela Merkel in Dresden, eastern Germany, on February 6, 2016. (AFP/Tobias Schwarz)
Via SyndiGate.info
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