More than 500 incidents have been reported so far in connection with violence during New Year festivities in the western German city of Cologne.
Police say at least 516 cases have been filed over violence, forty percent of which are related to sexual assault. Nineteen suspects are under investigation. According to police, asylum seekers from North Africa make up the majority of suspects. The allegations have stoked criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy on refugees, which brought 1.1 million asylum seekers to Germany last year. In the meantime, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas described the rash of sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve in Cologne as organized. He said the case will take on a new dimension if it is proven that the assaults were coordinated.
