Assaults in Germany

In the city of Cologne, Germany, more than 800 incidents of assault and theft, almost 500 of which were sexual in nature, were reported during New Year’s celebrations.
Many victims described their assailants as appearing to be from North Africa or the Middle East. Though concerns have been raised that the perpetrators were made up of recent asylum seekers from Syria and Iraq, the identities of most of the culprits were unknown as of press time, and recent immigrants have publicly condemned the attacks.
On Jan. 18, an asylum seeker from Algeria was the first to be arrested on a sexual assault charge connected to the New Year’s attacks.
In Leipzig on Jan. 11, 211 Germans were arrested during an anti-immigrant rally organized by Legida, the local branch of Pegida, a German anti-immigration organization. Though most of the rally was peaceful, a group of protesters broke away from the group, smashing windows and setting cars and a building on fire. In response, a pro-immigration group set fire to a bus chartered by Legida.