Anarchists residing in the Kouvelou Mansion squat in Maroussi, north of Athens, have claimed responsibility for an assault on Saturday on Golden Dawn MP Giorgos Germenis.

In a statement posted online, the anarchists said they happened upon Germenis by chance in a café in Maroussi and that tensions escalated when it transpired that the neonazi MP had a gun on him and apparently went to reach for it.

In the statement, the anarchists said they approached Germenis chanting anti-fascist slogans and calling on him and his companions to leave the café. He refused and made to pull out a gun from behind his back, they said, prompting the attack.

Condemning fascists for playing the role of "stooge" and "crutch to the system," the anarchists called on "all those who are oppressed, locals and migrants, to clear away anything which stands in front of them and blocks the way for a more equal, just, humane society."

Germenis was briefly hospitalized following the attack on Saturday by a group of about 30 people.