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Crowds have gathered outside the Chancellory in Berlin just two days after the Berlin terror attack as a series of protests, counter-demonstrations and vigils are held across the city. Supporters of the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party are demonstrating outside Angela Merkel’s office. Placards reading “Merkel must go” were waved in the crowd as supporters carried the German flag and lit candles for the dead.

Other placards read “protect borders” and “On Merkel's hands is the blood of her people”. People were also seen holding placards with the logo of the far right Identitarian movement (Identitaere Bewegung) reading "It's enough" and "How many times again". A small counter-demonstration also broke out in front of the Chancellory in Berlin as protests erupted elsewhere in the city. It comes two days after 12 people were killed in the German capital when a lorry ploughed into a busy Christmas market.

REUTERS/ GETTY Protests have erupted outside Angela Merkel's office in Berlin

AFP GETTY Crowds wave German flags as they call for Angela Merkel to step down

REUTERS A man's sign reads "On Merkel's hands is the blood of her people"

GETTY A man's jacket reads "This Country Must Stay German!" as he attends the protest in Berlin

GETTY AfD supporters carry banners and flags

Radical Islamic terrorism has struck in the heart of Germany Frauke Petry

Many are believed to belong to hard-right groups such as the NPD. The market at the foot of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, stayed shut today, but at a counter-demonstration some 50 people gathered with banners that read "I am a Berliner" and sang songs such as "We are the World". It comes as AfD party leader Franke Petry said Mrs Merkel is finished in the wake of the terror attack. She said the the country was no longer safe and "radical Islamic terrorism has struck in the heart of Germany" as ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre.

Ms Petry told the Telegraph: "This is a terrible day, but it is not completely unexpected given the warnings from the security authorities, including about the prospect of an attack on Berlin. "We cannot go on denying there is a link between Merkel's migration policy and these attacks, or we will prepare that ground for more of these attacks." The anti-migrant party has seen support surge in local elections as the German Chancellor fights to take office for a fourth term.

REUTERS Placards are displayed outside Angela Merkel's office

REUTERS Supporters of the Alternative for Deutschland lead the demonstration

GETTY Members of the crowd light candles during the protest

AFP GETTY 'Merkel must go', protesters gather outside the German Chancellery

More than 60 other Christmas markets across the German capital re-opened today under tightened security. Tourist Nicki Anning at the Gendarmenmarkt Square in central Berlin said: ”We don't want to let the terrorists win. If everyone stays away, they are winning.” Berlin authorities said 12 people seriously injured in Monday's attack were still being treated in hospital. Dozens of people gathered by a large Christmas tree at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to hold a vigil for the victims of the attack at Breitscheidplatz. Tributes of candles, messages and flowers lay by the tree, which was lit up in white Christmas lights. Those attending the service brought candles and lanterns, which they held as they stood together near the famous German landmark.

REUTERS People are also holding placards with the logo of the far right Identitarian movement

REUTERS Alexander Gauland of the AfD attends the protest

REUTERS People protest against the AfD demonstration in front of the Chancellery

Many hugged and wept as the vigil took place. John Lennon's song Imagine was played after a short speech by Anne Wizorek, an author in Berlin. "We need radical solidarity," she told the crowd. "We have to stand together and not be torn apart. "We cannot let the hate and the fear have a platform.

GETTY Supporters of the far-right NPD political party hold a demo near the attack site

GETTY Supporters of the far-right NPD political party hold a demonstration near the market site

"You will not receive our hatred - not in Berlin and not anywhere else in Germany." A minute's silence was held at the service, which took place at the same time as others in Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt. The possible and unproven involvement of a migrant or refugee has revived a bitter debate about security and immigration, with Mrs Merkel facing calls to clamp down after allowing more than a million newcomers into Germany in the past two years. The German Chancellor has said it would be particularly repugnant if a refugee seeking protection in Germany was the perpetrator.

German police are looking for an asylum-seeker from Tunisia after finding an identity document under the driver's seat of the truck that ploughed into the Berlin Christmas market. The federal prosecutor's office said it was offering a reward of up to £84,000 for information leading to the capture of the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Anis Amri. The prosecutor's office said in a statement: "Beware: He could be violent and armed."

GETTY Christine Tan and her children look at flowers and candles left by mourners in Berlin

EPA Refugees from Iraq lay candles in the lettering 'Pray for Berlin' near the site of the attack

Police initially arrested a Pakistani asylum-seeker near the scene, but released him without charge on Tuesday. It remains unclear whether the real perpetrator was acting alone or with others. The Polish driver of the hijacked truck was found shot dead in the cabin of the vehicle. Bild newspaper said he had been alive until the attack took place. It also quoted an investigator as saying there must have been a struggle with the attacker, who may have been injured.

BERLIN TERROR: 'TWELVE' dead as truck crashed into crowd at Christmas market Tue, December 20, 2016 A truck crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin killing at least 12 and injuring 48 Play slideshow REUTERS•AFP 1 of 21 A truck crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin killing at least 12 and injuring 48

The head of the group of interior ministers from Germany's 16 federal states, Klaus Bouillon, said tougher security measures were needed. He told Passauer Neue Presse: “We want to raise the police presence and strengthen the protection of Christmas markets. We will have more patrols. Officers will have machine guns. We want to make access to markets more difficult, with vehicles parked across them.” Some politicians have blamed Mrs Merkel's open-door migrant policy for making such attacks more likely.

GETTY German police are hunting for suspect Anis Amri