Thousands of Kurds protest against Isis

More than 20,000 Kurds protested against the Islamic State group in the western German city of Düsseldorf Saturday, according to the police.

Kurdish organisations called the demonstration to protest attacks by IS jihadist militants on Kurdish towns in Syria, particularly the besieging of the town of Kobane.

Meanwhile, two people were seriously hurt after radical Muslims attacked a Kurdish demonstration in the west Austrian city of Bregenz, according to a police spokesman.

The attack came after clashes between Kurds and radical Muslims in the northern German cities of Hamburg and Celle left more than 20 people injured earlier this week.

Concern has grown in Berlin about a spillover of the tensions in Syria and Iraq to Germany, which is home to an estimated one million ethnic Kurds.

“We’re watching this very closely,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in an interview to appear Sunday in German daily Focus.

Those who take part in fighting “should expect a very tough reaction,” he warned.

Meanwhile, between five and six thousand people - according to police and demonstrators respectively - protested Saturday in Paris to call for international support for Kurds trapped in Kobane.

Around 600 people also protested in the eastern French city of Mulhouse, several hundred in the east-central city of Lyon, as well as several hundred in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

See more on this Topic