Angela Merkel outraged after 90 reports of sexual assault in one German city

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced outrage Tuesday at a series of sexual assaults in the western city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve, saying the perpetrators need to be found as soon as possible.

Merkel called Cologne’s mayor Henriette Reker to express her concern about the assaults, which took place around Cologne’s main train station, next to the city’s famous cathedral.

“The chancellor expressed her outrage about these despicable assaults and sexual attacks, that demand a hard response by the forces of law,” Merkel’s office said in a statement.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The chancellor expressed her outrage about these despicable assaults and sexual attacks, that demand a hard response by the forces of law," Merkel's office said in a statement.

The chancellor also called for everything to be done “to find the perpetrators as quickly and comprehensively as possible and to punish them without regard to their origin or background,” it said.

The incident has sparked a debate about the behaviour of migrants in Germany after witnesses and police described the perpetrators as being of “Arab or North African origin.” Police said the men had gathered in large numbers near the train station, drinking alcohol and releasing fireworks along with other revelers.

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“We don’t currently have any suspects, so we don’t know who the perpetrators were,” Cologne’s police chief Wolfgang Albers told reporters. “All we know is that the police at the scene perceived that it was mostly young men aged 18 to 35 from the Arab or North African region.”

Cologne’s mayor also cautioned against hasty conclusions about the perpetrators.

“It’s completely improper … to link a group that appeared to come from North Africa with the refugees,” Reker said.

Police say dozens of women reported being sexually assaulted and robbed during the night from Thursday to Friday. At least 90 criminal complaints have been filed, including one allegation of rape.

Albers expressed regret that initial police reports of the New Year’s festivities contained no mention of the assaults.

“The full extent of the assaults, particularly the sexual assaults, only became apparent to us the following day,” he said.

Separately, police in the northern city of Hamburg appealed for witnesses who observed similar sexual assaults and thefts in the St. Pauli district on New Year’s night.

Cologne’s mayor, who held a crisis meeting with police officials Tuesday, said her city would step up measures to prevent such attacks during the annual Carnival festivities next month, during which alcohol-soaked street parties are the norm.

“We will also have to explain our Carnival better to people from other cultures, so that there’s no confusion about the cheerful behaviour in Cologne that has nothing to do with candour, especially candid sexuality,” Reker said.