A psychologist working for the German Red Cross has been stabbed to death by a Syrian man at a counseling centre for refugees in the western state of Saarland.

The charity said the attack took place on Wednesday in the state capital, Saarbruecken.

The 27-year-old Syrian attacked the Red Cross psychologist following an argument, German news agency dpa reported. The suspect, who wasn't identified, was arrested shortly after the attack.

A Red Cross psychologist has been killed by a Syrian refugee (file photo)

The 30-year-old psychologist had been working for the Red Cross since 2014, helping people who had experienced trauma begin lives.

The shocking incident comes after an attack on Sunday that saw a five-year-old child stabbed to death by an Afghan national at a refugee shelter in southeastern Germany.

The 41-year-old assailant also injured the child's mother, a Russian national, and a six-year-old child at the scene was treated for shock and taken to hospital.

The attack was apparently sparked by a dispute between asylum seekers at the centre.

Germany has seen an influx of around 1 million refugees since 2015, with emigrants from war-torn Syria and Afghanistan leading the numbers.



And tensions have arisen between some refugees and some native Germans. According to the country's Interior Ministry, as reported in the Independent, there were an average 10 attacks every day on refugees in 2016.

Vigilant gangs have been formed by groups of far-right-wingers in a number of German towns, while there were reports of mass sexual assault by refugees on women at a New Year's Eve event in Cologne in 2015.