Afghan teen 'out of danger' after asylum fight

A police spokesman said on Monday that the 14-year-old's condition had improved and that he was no longer in a critical condition, the German public broadcaster NDR reported.

The Afghan teenager has been severely kicked and punched in the head during the violence on Saturday evening at a temporary shelter for asylum seekers in the town of Dauelsen, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) northwest of Hanover.

Police, who on Sunday said they had begun an investigation into attempted murder, aggravated battery and disturbance of the peace, said the teenager's injuries no longer posed a risk to his life and that he had already received visitors.

That fighting came after a similar incident a day earlier at the same facility, police said, with some 14 people injured in total. The Friday night clash, which was allegedly caused by the theft of a loudspeaker, saw as many as 30 people, including Afghan and Iraqi Kurdish migrants, attack each other with iron bars and fire extinguishers, police said. Officers were only able to put down the violence with a large police deployment, the DPA news agency reported.

It is unclear what exactly triggered the second clash, in which some 50 people were said to have taken part brandishing various household implements as weapons. Police said the fight was likely a continuation of Friday night's violence. One 19-year-old suspect was temporarily detained.

Germany took in nearly 1.1 million migrants and refugees last year, a number that has stretched resources and accommodation facilities.