Germany Tightens Border Controls Amid Rising Migration Concerns

Germany has expanded its border checks to include its borders with France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Denmark. The measures, set to last six months, come in response to a series of recent attacks and aims to curb irregular migration. These controls have potential implications for EU's Schengen Agreement.

Germany on Monday began random checks at its borders with five Western European nations in an effort to crack down on irregular migration, expanding an already existing system of controls at four other borders.

Police began border controls at the borders with France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Denmark, with plans to continue for six months. Germany has been checking its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland since the previous year.

The initiative comes following recent extremist attacks, including a knife attack attributed to a Syrian asylum-seeker that killed three people last month in Solingen, and another attack in June by an Afghan immigrant that left a police officer dead. These incidents prompted the unpopular coalition government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, to intensify efforts to tackle irregular immigration and crime.

(With inputs from agencies.)