Cologne police chief 'relieved of duties' after New Year's

Of the 32 suspects identified by police in Cologne, 22 are asylum seekers, the German Interior Ministry said.

The suspects include nine Algerians, eight Moroccans, four Syrians, five Iranians, two Germans and one each from Iraq, Serbia and the United States, he said. Some have accused Merkel of having an "open-door" policy toward migrants, although Germany reintroduced border checks with Austria in September. More than a million refugees have entered Germany in the past 12 months.

It came after protesters, chanting "Merkel must go" were said to have thrown beer bottles at officers.

"The feeling women had in this case, of being at people's mercy without any protection, is intolerable for me personally as well". The most important person responsible is Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor.

She pledged strong action and stressed that "we must also speak again about the cultural fundamentals of our co-existence".

He said two men, both asylum seekers, were informed through interpreters that they're suspected of sexual assault and that police are trying to identify other suspects.

It said women were forced to "run a gauntlet ... beyond description" to reach or leave the station.

In light of claims that a large number of the attackers were of North African and Arab appearance, politicians in Germany have called for tighter rules on immigration.

"Most are asylum seekers or people living illegally in Germany".

Cologne's mayor, Henriette Reker - whose comments about a new "code of conduct" for young women hashtag - agreed, saying that Germans should not assume that the perpetrators of the attacks were migrants. After Cologne, Hamburg appears to have been the worst affected. That's not the case for the mob sex attacks and muggings in Cologne, where police spokeswoman Stefanie Becker told CNN that more than 121 criminal complaints have been filed relating to the mass assaults, including two alleged rapes.

Cologne police said Friday they have received a total of 170 criminal complaints related to New Year, including 120 of a sexual nature. Bild, the German daily, published a leaked police report on the incidents that said officers were overwhelmed by the events. "This is a completely new phenomenon in Helsinki".

Specifics of the New Year's Eve assaults and who were behind them are still being investigated.

"It's about making clear that we will not stop moving around freely here in Cologne, and to protest against victim bashing and the abuse of women", said 50-year-old city resident Ina Wolf.

"Women alone or with others were literally running the gauntlet through crowds of heavily drunk men, in a way that defies description", a police official wrote in the report, according to the Journal.

• Maryland's Melo Trimble Cans a Long Three to Beat Wisconsin

• Federal Emergency Management Agency to monitor Flint's water crisis

• Lazio rejected Utd's €50m Anderson offer