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Pegida Says to Hold Anti-Islamization Rallies in UK's West Midlands Monthly

© REUTERS / Neil HallMembers of PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) shout during a rally on Whitehall in central London April 4, 2015.
Members of PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) shout during a rally on Whitehall in central London April 4, 2015. - Sputnik International
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The anti-Islamization Pegida group has vowed to hold monthly marches in the English region of the West Midlands in 2016, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, the Germany-based Pegida movement held anti-Islamization rallies all over Europe. The British branch of the group held a so-called Silent March in the West Midlands city of Birmingham.

Members of the Garda Public Order Unit and riot police confront protestors at an anti-racism demonstration against the launch of an Irish branch of PEGIDA in Dublin, Ireland - Sputnik International
Pegida Members, Counter-Demonstrators, Irish Police Clash at Dublin Rally

According to the Sky News television channel, some 200 people turned up to the rally. The media outlet reported that despite the relatively low turnout, the group was hoping to return to the same location throughout 2016.

"We are aware that protest organisers have intimated their desire to protest again at the site later in the year. We have not received any formal notification … we have a duty to facilitate protests as long as they are peaceful and within the law," a West Midlands Police spokeswoman said, as quoted by the channel.

Pegida, an acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, began organizing rallies in its home city of Dresden in October 2014, attracting hundreds and later thousands of supporters.

The far-right German movement gained support in many member states of the European Union amid rising anti-migrant sentiment as Europe faces its biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

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