Girl tells of terror at mob of groping migrants
A TEENAGER has told how she had to grab her friend’s hand to escape being dragged away by a gang of 30 angry immigrants as they groped and robbed her in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
The 18-year-old, named only as Michelle, said she was forced to walk the three miles home alone after she was one of more than 100 women attacked by the group of up to 1,000 men of ‘Arab or North African’ appearance.
Both Cologne’s police chief and Germany’s public broadcaster yesterday apologised after they were accused of attempting to cover up the extraordinary attacks.
It is claimed they feared inflaming the heated debate about the country’s ability to cope with the influx of nearly 1.1million asylum seekers last year.
On New Year’s Day police said celebrations had passed off peacefully with a ‘jolly atmosphere’. But dozens of women said they had been robbed and sexually assaulted by gangs of men near the city’s main train station.
Witnesses said the men worked in ‘co-ordinated’ groups to trap and assault women, two of whom reported they were raped.
One victim, known only as Jenny, was badly burned when a firework was shoved into the hood she was wearing. She said: ‘The scars will be permanent. I was lucky that it didn’t explode.’
Another distressed victim, who did not want to be identified, said: ‘I was groped between my legs. My friends were also fondled.’
Women have now been warned parts of the city are ‘no-go areas’ because of the levels of drug dealing and theft. Similar attacks were reported in other German cities including Hamburg, where 53 women complained of assaults at New Year’s street parties.
Police were last night investigating whether the incidents in Cologne were connected to gangs operating in Dusseldorf, which is 25 miles away, where officers said they have identified more than 2,000 suspects of North African origin in connection with organised thefts since the start of 2014.
On German TV yesterday, a victim called Michelle told how she was in a group of 11 friends outside the station when she ‘first noticed all these men standing around’.
‘We wanted to watch the fireworks by the river, but suddenly we were surrounded by a group of 20 to 30 men,’ she told N-TV. ‘They were full of anger, and we had to make sure that none of us were pulled away by them. They were groping us and we were trying to get away.’
Later, when she tried to go home Michelle and her friends had to run the gauntlet all over again. She added: ‘It was only when I got to the platform that I realised my train was not travelling. I had to go back through the mass of men and walked the five kilometres home.’
Cologne’s Mayor Henriette Reker was yesterday criticised after she advised women: ‘There is always the possibility of keeping a certain distance, more than an arm’s length, from strangers.’
The city council’s opposition group leader Judith Wolter said the city centre should be avoided as it was a ‘no-go area’ because of drug dealing and theft.
Wolfgang Albers, head of the city’s police, yesterday apologised for claiming celebrations had passed off peacefully. He said: ‘That was wrong.’
Public TV station ZDF also apologised for being slow to cover the attacks.