Far-right protesters in Germany have been "hunting down" foreigners in street mobs after a man was stabbed to death.

The 35-year-old German-Cuban man was killed and two others were left needing hospital treatment after what police described as a dispute between "several people of various nationalities" on Sunday.

Police have arrested a 22-year-old Iraqi man and a 23-year-old Syrian man in connection with the death, according to Leipzig's LVZ news site.

It prompted about 800 people to demonstrate in Chemnitz, a city in which the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) received nearly a quarter of the vote last year.

Image: A police water cannon in Chemnitz, eastern Germany

Hundreds of supporters of PEGIDA, a German nationalist anti-Islam and anti-immigration group gathered for another demonstration on Monday evening, with riot police called to separate the crowds.


Several people were injured as pyrotechnics and objects were thrown from both sides.

Water cannon also had to be moved in.

Media outlets such as Bild reported that protesters shouted "we are the people", "get lost" and "you're not welcome here" at people they thought were migrants.

They have also chanted "Luegenpresse", a Nazi-era term which translates to "lying press".

Others launched attacks with bottles, according to a journalist who reports on far-right activities.

Image: The far-right street movement PEGIDA called for a second day of protests in Chemnitz

Opponents stood on the other side shouting "Nazis, get out".

Footage posted on social media showed what local newspapers described as hooligans and extremists engaging in street battles with riot police.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the actions of the protesters.

Ms Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said: "Such riotous assemblies, the hunting down of people who appear to be from different backgrounds or the attempt to spread hate in the streets, these have no place in our country.

"People ganging up, chasing people who look different from them or who come from elsewhere... is something we won't tolerate.

"There is no place in Germany for vigilantism, for groups that want to spread hatred on the streets, for intolerance and racism."

Image: One man was stabbed to death and two others were injured in the initial dispute

AfD MP Markus Frohnmaier wrote on Twitter: "If the state can no longer protect the citizen, then people will go on the streets and protect themselves."

Chemnitz mayor Barbara Ludwig reacted to the unrest by saying: "If I look at what has happened here on Sunday, I'm horrified.

"The fact that people can agree to meet... run through town and threaten people is bad," she told broadcaster MDR.

Police said investigations were ongoing into the motive and the weapon used to kill the German man on Sunday.