Reports of New Year's Eve sex assaults

in Cologne fuel German migrant debate

By Atika Shubert, Tim Hume and Carol Jordan, CNN

Updated 1114 GMT (1914 HKT) January 6, 2016

German police probe alleged New Year assaults 02:53

Story highlights

Sexual assaults and muggings were reported in Cologne, Germany, on

New Year's Eve

The victims said the assailants were gangs of Arab and North African
men, police say

The reports of assaults have added fuel to Germany's migration debate

Berlin (CNN)A spate of alleged sexual assaults and robberies at New Year's
Eve festivities in the German city of Cologne has fueled a political firestorm over
immigration in Germany.
Ninety criminal incidents, a quarter of which were sexual assaults, were
reported following New Year's Eve celebrations in the city, Cologne police told
CNN.

Police said victims described the perpetrators as gangs of Arab or North African
men. Many of the assaults were likely intended to distract, allowing attackers to
steal mobile phones and other devices, police said.
Authorities said the crimes, including a rape, occurred around the train station,
next to the western German city's landmark cathedral.
Video footage of the celebrations in the area show riotous scenes, with revelers
shooting fireworks into crowds.
In a phone call with Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker Tuesday, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed outrage over the attacks, labeling them
"disgusting" and calling for the culprits to be identified and punished as soon as
possible, CNN affiliate ARD reported.
Cologne police Chief Wolfgang Albers said at a press conference Monday that
the incidents were "intolerable," describing them as "crimes of a totally new
dimension."
The episode raised questions about the viability of Cologne's famous Carnival
next month when hundreds of thousands are expected to join celebrations on
city streets, he said.
A smaller number of similar assaults also were reported in the German city of
Hamburg on New Year's Eve, Hamburg police told CNN.

'We as women suffered'

One of the Cologne victims said she was too scared to go out alone following
the ordeal.
"The men surrounded us and started to grab our behinds and touch our
crotches," she said.
"They touched us everywhere. I wanted to take my friend and leave. I turned
around and in that moment someone grabbed my bag."
She said she feared she could be killed or raped by the attackers.
"Nobody noticed and nobody helped us. I just wanted to get out."
Another victim said she had unsuccessfully tried to fight off her assailant.
"But there were so many people around me that there was no control. There
was no way out. There was no way to protect yourself," she said.

"We ran to the police. But we saw the police were so understaffed. They couldn't
take care of us and we as women suffered the price."

Protests, crisis meeting

The New Year's Eve reports have sparked a fierce outcry in Germany, with
protesters gathering at the site of the alleged attacks.
On social media, some accused the news media of failing to report on the
assaults in a timely fashion due to sensitivities around the alleged ethnic
identities of the assailants.
Germany has taken the largest numbers of migrants from the influx that has
created a crisis on Europe's borders, but many Germans have expressed
opposition to the sudden arrival of so many, predominantly Muslim, migrants,
questioning their ability to adapt to a European way of life.

Inside march against Islam in Germany 02:24

Read more: Germany's anti-migrant protest -- 'We don't want to be strangers in
our own country'
Following a crisis meeting with the city's police Tuesday, Reker, Cologne's
mayor, said at a press conference that the perpetrators would be pursued and
measures taken to prevent any repeats of such incidents.
In cooperation with police, her office will produce a book of rules on how to
behave during Carnival.
"We have to explain to people from other cultures that the jolly and frisky
attitude during our Carnival is not a sign of sexual openness," Reker said.
Albers, the police chief, said at the conference Tuesday that the description from
the victims was the only thing known about the perpetrators. Police have
received a lot of cell phone footage from the evening that will take time to work
through, he said.

A migration issue?

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said at a press conference Tuesday that
assaults were "not acceptable" and "must not be allowed to be repeated."
"We must clarify if what happened is a new form of organized crime against
which the state must take measures," he said.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas addresses the assaults in Cologne.

Maas also warned against linking the assaults to the immigration issue, which
has become a subject of heated debate in Germany.
"During these investigations it will become clear which circle of perpetrators is
involved," he said.
"Making this an issue through over-simplifications, and connecting it to the issue
of refugees is nothing more than misuse of the debate. Now it is about
determining the facts and drawing the necessary conclusions," he said.

Europe's migrant crisis by the numbers 01:17

But other politicians were forthright in linking the reported assaults to Germany's
welcoming approach to migrants.
Steffen Bilger, a member of parliament for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union,
tweeted that the reportsdemonstrated the urgent need for Germany to reduce its
migrant intake, secure its borders, intensify deportations and uphold "consistent
justice."