SIDEBAR Refugee flood has Munich nervous as it awaits Oktoberfest crowds

Munich (dpa) - A week before Munich‘s Oktoberfest begins, authorities are expressing concern about how the city will cope with the event‘s expected 6 million visitors, on top of the thousands of refugees currently pouring into the Bavarian capital every day.Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann called for an increased deployment of federal police to assist local officers."If, during the evenings and at the weekend, festival visitors who have had a lot to drink run into as many refugees as we have had in recent days, things could get out of hand," he said.The annual beer festival, billed as the biggest gathering of its kind in the world, kicks off on Saturday, when Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter ceremonially breaks open the first barrel, and ends on October 4.More than 12,000 refugees arrived by train in the city on Saturday, and a similar number were expected on Sunday. Munich has become the first stop for many refugees entering Germany via the Balkan Route, and city authorities have been struggling to accommodate them.During the 16 days of the Oktoberfest, some 2 million visitors are expected to pass through the city‘s main station. Efforts are now under way to route refugees, most of whom arrive by train, past Munich."Our aim is to keep the different groups apart as far as possible to avoid conflict situations arising altogether," Herrmann said.The possibility of terrorist attack has resulted in increased security measures at the Oktoberfest over recent years.