BERLIN (AP) — A senior German security official has condemned violence during protests by Kurds in Germany against Turkey's military operation in northeastern Syria.

The interior minister of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, said Thursday that "the limits of our tolerance have clearly been overstepped" and urged protesters to remain peaceful.

In recent days, several people were injured during demonstrations, especially in the western part of Germany.

German news agency dpa reported that a 50-year-old German-Turkish man was stabbed Wednesday during a Kurdish rally in the western town of Luedenscheid, while at a pro-Kurdish protest in Bottrop four people were accused of beating a man, and police were pelted with stones.

Germany is home to large Turkish and Kurdish communities, and tensions between them have turned violent in the past.