Merkel Shields `Innocent' Refugees as Critic Backs Terror Fight
- German leader's Bavarian ally puts party strife on hold
- Time `running out to return hope to the millions of refugees'
The Politics of Immigration and Terrorism in Europe
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back against critics of her open-door policy on refugees, saying those fleeing war zones shouldn’t have to bear the blame for the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Merkel’s comments at a Group of 20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, were a rebuff to domestic opponents who cited the slaughter in the French capital as evidence that the chancellor must reverse her stance and turn people away. A statement by the Greek authorities raising the possibility that one assailant entered Europe posing as a refugee raised the pressure on Merkel still further.