German intelligence chief sacked over controversial comments

German government on Tuesday dismissed its domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maassen for his earlier controversial comments on the xenophobia protests in Germany's eastern city of Chemnitz.

Maassen will be removed from the secret service Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and will get a senior post at the interior ministry, according to an governmental statement.

The decision was made after a crisis meeting where heads of the three ruling parties attended, putting an end to their month-long divisions.

Maassen, during an interview with the local tabloid Bild, had cast doubts on the authenticity of a widely-shared footage showing rightist radicals chasing and beating migrants during a rightist demonstration in Chemnitz.

The far-right violence was triggered after the fatal stabbing of a German man which was blamed on two migrants on Aug. 28.

Maassen's comments directly contradicted Chancellor Angela Merkel's rhetoric on the incident, saying it "clearly revealed hate."

He has also since been under fire and accused of having contacts with the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and disclosing classified information for it. Maassen denied the accusation, saying that he had only talked to some AfD members.

Whether or not to sack Maassen showed clear divergence among the federal government, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), coalition partners of Merkel's conservative union, insisted to kick out Maassen. However, Horst Seehofer, leader of Merkel's Bavarian allies, backed Maassen to retain his post.

Local media commented the spat was seen as a reflection of Germany's current unstable political alliance and the contrasting attitudes towards migrants after Merkel's 2015 open-door policy to Syrian refugees.