A German court Monday sentenced two Rwandan rebel leaders to long jail terms for masterminding massacres in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from their homes in Germany, capping a trial hailed by the U.N. as a breakthrough.

Ignace Murwanashyaka, head of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), received 13 years in prison, while his deputy Straton Musoni was given eight years, judge Juergen Hettich told the court after a trial that lasted more than four years.

A German court Monday sentenced two Rwandan rebel leaders to long jail terms for masterminding massacres in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from their homes in Germany, capping a trial hailed by the U.N. as a breakthrough.

Ignace Murwanashyaka, head of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), received 13 years in prison, while his deputy Straton Musoni was given eight years, judge Juergen Hettich told the court after a trial that lasted more than four years.

Clashes at a refugee camp near the central German city of Kassel on Sunday left 14 people injured, the DPA news agency reported.

The clashes erupted in the suburbs of the city, at a camp made up of tents which house around 1,500 migrants hailing from around 20 different countries, and lasted "several hours", DPA quoted the police as saying.

Germany on Sunday called for a transitional government in Syria in a bid to resolve the country's years-long civil war, as European governments increasingly soften their demands over President Bashar Assad's departure.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier mooted talks between regional actors, European countries, the United States and Russia "towards the foundation of a transitional government", which he said "would already be a lot".

When customers ask which of the backpacks displayed in Damascus's Souk al-Khija market is the sturdiest, shopkeeper Walid knows they are planning to take to the sea and try to reach Germany.

Lifting a bright yellow one from his storefront display, he patiently explains to a young couple that it is waterproof, comfortable for long walks, and can be removed easily in an emergency.

Croatia on Saturday announced an unprecedented spike in the arrival of migrants on a long, dangerous journey towards western Europe as the continent's worst post-World War II refugee crisis showed no sign of abating.

With many of the people fleeing war and misery flocking towards Germany, a new poll showed Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity at home has been hit by her policy of openness.

Germany estimates that 30 percent of incoming migrants claiming to be citizens of war-torn Syria are in fact from other countries, an interior ministry spokesman said Friday.

"It's an estimate based on the observations of officials on the ground, especially the federal police, the Office for Migration and Refugees and (EU border protection agency) Frontex," he said.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam was in New York on Friday to attend the opening of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015.

The summit is aimed at formally approving an ambitious and costly 15-year blueprint to eradicate extreme poverty, combat climate change and address more than a dozen other major global issues.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg told Agence France Presse Thursday there was still a "strong" Russian presence in eastern Ukraine in support of pro-Moscow rebels although a recent ceasefire seems to be holding.

Stoltenberg said he backed the continuation of European Union and United States sanctions against Russia over its involvement in Ukraine until Moscow changes its behavior.

Thousands of migrants streamed through the Balkans Thursday as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned after an emergency summit that Europe still had to get to grips with its biggest post-war refugee crisis.

French officials meanwhile said a young African was killed by a Channel Tunnel train while trying to get to Britain, just the latest in thousands of deaths this year among people desperate to start a new life in Europe.