Mass Groping, Rape In Cologne By ‘Arab Looking Men’ Sparks Debate On Migrants In Germany

Admin 07-Jan-2016 12:48:10 Inothernews

Mass Groping, Rape In Cologne By ‘Arab Looking Men’ Sparks Debate On Migrants In Germany


German leaders expressed shock over dozens of apparently coordinated sexual assaults against women on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne blamed on "Arab-looking men," but warned against anti-migrant scapegoating. Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a thorough investigation of the "repugnant" attacks, ranging from groping to at least one reported rape, allegedly committed in a large crowd of revellers during year-end festivities outside the city's main train station and its famed Gothic cathedral. Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said she had called Cologne's mayor, Henriette Reker, to express her "outrage" over the violence, which she said required "a tough response from the state". "Everything must be done to find as many of the perpetrators as possible as quickly as possible and bring them to justice, regardless of their origin or background," Seibert quoted Merkel as saying.



'It was terrible'

Victims described terrifying scenes in the marauding mob.

Katja L., 28, said she was with three friends outside the station when they encountered a group of "foreign-looking men".

"Suddenly I felt a hand on my bottom, then on my breasts, then I was groped everywhere," she told Cologne tabloid Express.

"It was horrible. Although we screamed and flailed about, the guys didn't stop. I was beside myself and think that I was touched about 100 times across around 200 metres (yards)."

A woman in her 30s interviewed on rolling news channel N24 said she was groped by a group of "Arab-looking men".

"They didn't look at me aggressively, they seemed more curious than anything, and a little drunk," she said.

"I was furious."

Cologne mayor Reker, who was stabbed in the neck in October in an attack apparently over her welcoming stance toward refugees, called a crisis meeting with political officials and police Tuesday after the case made national headlines.

She pledged to step up security and violence-prevention measures ahead of next month's raucous Carnival, which draws hundreds of thousands to party in the city's streets.

Albers said security cameras and better lighting would be installed for the February 4-10 event, including around the main rail station.

Merkel in her televised New Year's address called on Germans to continue to welcome refugees despite mounting criticism and to reject far-right ideologues whipping up anti-migrant sentiment.

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