German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel | Sean Gallup/Getty Images | Sean Gallup/Getty Images German foreign minister: G20 rioters no different from ‘neo-Nazis’ The level of violence and destruction raises questions over where to hold future summits.

Violent protestors on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg are no different from "neo-Nazis" and harm the country's image internationally, Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in a Bild am Sonntag editorial after three nights of violence in the port city.

"The offenders do not differ at all from neo-Nazis and their fire attacks," Gabriel said, describing the events as an "orgy of brutality".

More than 15,000 police were deployed to monitor some 100,000, mostly peaceful, protestors during the summit in Germany's second most populous city. But over three consecutive nights, security officials fought running battles with some far-left rioters, who looted shops and set vehicles ablaze in parts of the city.

Gabriel wrote that “Germany's image in the international view is seriously affected by the events in Hamburg” and that the “alleged political motives” were simply a cover for violence. "We now need a fast pan-European search for the criminals, but it may still be difficult to identify them,” said Gabriel.

According to the most recent available figures released by Hamburg police Sunday, some 476 police officers were injured in the three-day period after violence began on Thursday. So far 186 people have been arrested by security officials.

During a visit to Hamburg Sunday, Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was shocked by the level of destruction. "We must ask ourselves as democrats whether a few violent protesters can keep countries such as Germany from holding such international meetings," Steinmeier said according to the AFP news service.