Refugee camp in Dusseldorf is burned down by migrants

A refugee camp in Germany was burned down by migrants amid claims they were angry they had not received a wake-up for Ramadan breakfast, it has been reported.

The large fire ripped through the centre - home to 280 refugees - completely levelling the hall in the western German city of Dusseldorf on Tuesday.

Emergency crews treated 25 people for smoke poisoning before police started an arson investigation amid claims a mattress had been sprayed with lighter fluid then torched.

According to the German newspaper Express, two Moroccans living at the centre said Iranian security staff at the facility had 'deliberately' not woken those observing Ramadan ahead of their scheduled breakfast time.

The newspaper reports the two men as saying that a plan was then formed to start a fire.

Witnesses reported that there had been recurring tensions between followers of different religions in the Red Cross-run facility.

Since the start of the year, police had been called 89 times to the 65,000 sq ft hall, which was formerly part of the city's congress centre, reports said.

German authorities last night said two North African men were suspected of starting the blaze and causing extensive damage 'as part of a dispute over food'. 

Police and prosecutors said one of the two 26-year-olds was seen pouring flammable liquid onto a mattress and setting fire to it, while the other told fellow residents: 'We had to do it so that things change.'

Investigators said an argument over food is believed to have preceded Tuesday's fire. 

They said Muslims who weren't observing dawn-to-dusk fasting during Ramadan had complained about what they said was a small lunch.

Prosecutor Ralf Herrenbrueck told ZDF television that both suspects have told authorities they are North African.

TV footage of the blaze showed plumes of black smoke billowing into the air at the facility on the site of the city's trade fair. 

The centre had been on fire since midday but the fire service brought the flames under control during the afternoon.