Migrants burned a conference hall down, injuring 26 people and causing €10 million in damage, during Ramadan because they thought there wasn’t enough chocolate and candy.

Two men have been charged for setting fire to the hall, which was being used as an asylum centre, in an attack that lit a hundred-metre high pillar of smoke that could be seen from across Düsseldorf.

“It was triggered by a dispute about food during Ramadan,” a spokesman for the state court said of the criminal act, which left 26 people injured. The hall, which had previously been used for staging conferences and exhibitions, was burned down completely resulting in 10 million euros’ worth of damage.

German Red Cross employees reported that the arson attack on June 7 happened as a result of inflamed tensions during the Islamic month of fasting, in which Muslims choose not to eat during daylight hours.

Ordinary lunchtime meals in the asylum centre were cancelled during Ramadan, to the dismay of non-Muslims, with hot food served only early morning and late evening. A spread of cold food was put out during the day for migrants who weren’t fasting.

Olaf Lehne, district head of the German Red Cross, revealed migrants set fire to the hall in anger that chocolate spread and confectionery was available at the buffet in daylight hours. “There isn’t enough Nutella, Gummibears, and chocolate,” they shouted.

German Red Cross Kitchen Master Stefan Gross said: “Most [migrants] were satisfied. There are always very few who complain.”

The two men who have now been charged by the state prosecutor are Algerian Adel D., with aggravated arson and dangerous bodily harm, and Moroccan Mohammed B., who called on other migrants to start fires, with acting as his accomplice to both offences.

A monthly tracker of public attitudes towards key issues last week showed Germany has now overtaken the United Kingdom as the most concerned nation in Europe on the subject of immigration, a significant development for a nation which has long prided itself on their openness to migrants.