German president urges swift refugee integration to counter extremism risk

Syrian refugees arrive at the camp for refugees and migrants in Friedland, Germany April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany must take care to integrate refugees as quickly as possible after they arrive in the country or risk the rise of political and religious extremism, President Joachim Gauck said on Thursday.

Germany has borne the brunt of Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War Two, with more than one million asylum seekers arriving in the country last year, most fleeing war and poverty in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.