German security officials warn of far-right border patrols

BERLIN (AP) — German security officials are warning far-right groups not to carry out vigilante patrols along the country’s eastern border with Poland, amid a rise in the number of migrants crossing the frontier illegally in recent weeks. Extremists groups include the far-right “Third Way” and “Free Saxons” party have been using social media to recruit people for their patrols. The head of the domestic intelligence agency in Saxony state said the move echoes tactics used by right-wing extremists during the refugee influx in 2015 and 2016. German authorities have reported an uptick in the number of people illegally entering the country through Poland in recent weeks. On some days, officers have picked up several hundred people a day.