BERLIN, Germany – The German city of Stuttgart has been rocked by gang violence and wars over the past few weeks, including Stuttgarter Kurden, a group promoting “Kurdish pride.“
Police in Baden-Wurttemberg detained four Kurds on Wednesday related to both the Kurdish group and Red Legions. They are accused of several crimes, including illegal gun possession and recent attacks on rival gangs.
The Stuttgarter Kurden reportedly want to succeed Red Legions, who were involved in several assaults in the past. In 2012, a young man died in a stabbing between the Red Legions and a rival gang. Their core members are detained in German jails.
The latest violence began in March, when a member of the motorcycle club United Tribunes was assaulted by members of the Red Legions, which led to a gang war the month after.
Hundreds of members of the United Tribunes converged on Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg for big fights with the Red Legions. At the incident in Ludwigsburg, a police officer broke his hand.
Stuttgarter Kurden warned on its Facebook page at the time: “In the next weeks a lot of your patches will burn. You can’t hide forever, we will come to you!!!”
In mid-April, some Kurds were videotaped by security cameras, attacking members of the United Tribunes, a gang founded in 2004 by a Bosnian boxer wanted by German police. The group is heavily into bodybuilding and mainly involved in prostitution.
Wednesday’s detentions follow police warnings against the gang violence. “Everybody who gets caught has to expect detention and severe consequences,” the police said in an earlier statement.
The suspects arrested Wednesday were found with several weapons in their homes, including guns, machetes and tasers. One of the detained was in possession of several hundred grams of marijuana.
Stuttgart police stated: “Through intensive investigation of the criminal investigation department, the perpetrators were identified and…arrested.”
Gang wars in Germany are not uncommon. Some districts in cities like Bremen or Berlin seem to be fully under the control of gangs.
Criminal biker gangs in Germany have been fighting for power and influence for several years, and police said in 2013 that one in eight crimes was related to biker gangs.
