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CITY ON THE EDGE

Cologne New Year’s celebrations sees a handful of sex attacks one year after mass rapes and robberies – as cops reveal 1,000-strong gang of ‘North African’ migrants tried to storm city centre

Police confirm many of the people in the group are believed to have been present during last year's sexual assault hell outside city's main station

COLOGNE police descended on a group of 1,000 men in a bid to prevent a repeat of last year’s New Year’s Eve mass sexual assault hell.

A wave of North African men were stopped from moving towards the German city’s main station – the scene of more than 1,000 sexual attacks last December.

German police stopped a throng of 1,000 men, believed to be of North African descent moving towards a square near Cologne's main station on New Year's Eve
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German police stopped a throng of 1,000 men, believed to be of North African descent moving towards a square near Cologne's main station on New Year's EveCredit: Getty Images
The men were prevented from moving towards the square in a bid to prevent a repeat of a series mass sexual assaults that took place in the same square last year
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The men were prevented from moving towards the square in a bid to prevent a repeat of a series mass sexual assaults that took place in the same square last yearCredit: Getty Images
Police confirmed some of those trying to reach the square had been involved last year
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Police confirmed some of those trying to reach the square had been involved last yearCredit: Getty Images

At least 150 of them were described as "the clientele from last year."

Police swooped on the throng around 9.30pm and took the personal details of all of them.  There were no arrests.

Many were put on to trains back to the towns they had come from by officers.

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One man was arrested for groping a woman, three more who did the same are still being hunted.

There were 1,500 police on duty - ten times the number last year - backed up by hundreds of volunteers and public order officials.

"Overall the situation dissolved quickly and quietly because many parties left the city by train," said a police spokesman.

More than a thousands police were on the streets of the German city on New Year's Eve in a bid to prevent a repeat of the trouble
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More than a thousands police were on the streets of the German city on New Year's Eve in a bid to prevent a repeat of the troubleCredit: Getty Images
The men were trying to reach a square outside the city's main train station
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The men were trying to reach a square outside the city's main train stationCredit: EPA
Tensions reared their head in Cologne last year following the horrific outbreak of sexual violence from migrants
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Tensions reared their head in Cologne last year following the horrific outbreak of sexual violence from migrantsCredit: Alamy

On the other side of the Rhine at the Deutzer train station a group of nearly 300 people of North African origin were met by an overwhelming police presence.

Again, many were sent back to the places they had come from.

"On the whole, the security plan worked", said Cologne Police President Jürgen Mathies. In total six people were arrested in the course of the evening.

Fireworks were banned in and around the station and the cathedral outside, security zones checked the bags of revellers who came to watch a light show by a Berlin artist and anyone drunk or threatening was turned away

Disturbances across Germany last year saw more than 1,500 women subjected to horrific sexual assaults
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Disturbances across Germany last year saw more than 1,500 women subjected to horrific sexual assaultsCredit: Xposure
More than 2,000 men of North African appearance were believed to be behind the shocking assaults
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More than 2,000 men of North African appearance were believed to be behind the shocking assaultsCredit: DPA

More than 1,500 women are believed to have been subjected to horrifying sexual assaults – including 24 cases of alleged rape - across German cities last New Year’s Eve.

Authorities confirmed the men behind the attacks were largely migrants of North African appearance.

Cologne was the worst-hit with up to 600 women being assaulted in and around the city’s main train station.

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