A man filmed the wreckage of the truck that crashed into the night markets in Berlin

A man filmed the wreckage of the truck that crashed into the night markets in Berlin

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be “repugnant” for many of the people who have helped refugees to find out one has committed a terror attack, as right-wing leaders warn “horror has arrived” in the country.

Speaking on Tuesday morning Ms Merkel said she was “shocked and saddened” that “12 people that were looking forward to Christmas and had plans for the festive season are no longer among us.”

“We don’t know anything for certain but we must assume it was a terrorist attack.

“Millions of people are asking themselves how can we live with the fact that during the festive season where we want to celebrate life, somebody has taken so many lives,” she said.

The perpetrator of the bloody attack is still at large after police released their only suspect.

A 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker known only as “Naved B” was taken into custody after the attack, which killed 12 and injured up to 50 people on Monday evening. The man was captured in a park after reportedly fleeing the scene, but denied any involvement. Police now say they have insufficient evidence to form a case against him.

The Chancellor, who will seek a fourth term at general elections in September next year, said it was important people don’t become “paralysed by terror” and urged people to keep celebrating the Christmas spirit in “freedom and openness.”

“I know it will be especially hard for us to take if it is confirmed that the person who committed this attack sought protection and asylum in Germany,” she said.

It comes as the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party warns the country is “no longer safe” in the wake of the horrific attack.

Dr Frauke Petry said the “horror has arrived” after Chancellor Merkel’s controversial decision to allow hundreds of thousands of refugees to enter the country in 2015 during Europe’s crisis.

She wished the families of the victims well but said “we must not be under any illusions”.

“The milieu in which such deeds can thrive has been created through negligence in the past year.”

“This case is not an isolated incident. That teaches us the look abroad, mainly to France. The Christmas market was not a random target. It’s not just an attack on our freedom and our way of life, but also for our Christian tradition.”

“On the immigration issue Germany is a politically divided country. The terror will unite us.”

Writing on Facebook she demanded tougher border control and deportation of potential terrorists with a tough line on Mosques preaching radical ideas.

“Germany is not safe anymore. It would be the duty of the chancellor to tell you this. Since they won’t do it, I’ll let you know. We are the enemies of freedom and their supporters.”

The Interior Minister of the state of Saarland also said the country is in a “state of war”.

“We must say that we are in a state of war, although some people, who always only want to see good, do not want to see this,” he said.

French National Front leader Marine Le Pen also expressed her solidarity with families of victims in Berlin. She called for an immediate end to the distribution of migrants in French communities.

“The emotion is there, but the outrage is very strong: how many massacres and deaths where Islamist terrorists are involved will be necessary for our governments to stop bringing a considerable number of migrants into our countries?”

Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders has also called for a “political revolution” after the deadly attack. US President-elect Donald Trump said the world must “change thinking” after the attack while former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said “events like these will be the Merkel legacy.”

They hate and kill us.

And nobody protects us.

Our leaders betray us.

We need a political revolution.

And defend our people.#BerlinAttack — Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) December 20, 2016

Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany - and it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2016

Terrible news from Berlin but no surprise. Events like these will be the Merkel legacy. — Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) December 20, 2016

Germany and the rest of Europe has been subject to a wave of terror attacks in 2015 and 2016 including in Paris, Brussels and Berlin. Increased fears, along with worries over the number of refugees and migrants from Syria and other countries entering the Schengen area has fuelled the rise of far-right parties across Europe.

Read the latest developments on the Berlin attack at news.com.au.