On New Year’s Eve, in the German city of Cologne, over 600 women were sexually assaulted, mugged or raped.
It was – and is – a night of unmitigated horror. There are countless accounts from women who were suffocated with dread and fear the minute they exited Cologne central station, where the attacks were carried out. Similarly from bystanders who attempted to intervene.
It has left the city, and the nation, in shock and its reverberations will extend well beyond Europe’s borders.
Twenty-two asylum seekers are among the 31 suspects and their crimes are being considered, by some, as proof of Angela Merkel’s open borders policy (under which Germany accepted 1.1 million refugees last year) being flawed.
Top Comments
Was this attack organised by IS extremists?
To my mind it has the hallmarks of a new kind of terrorist attack which creates fear and anger which in turn creates hatred. The result is that westernised Muslims are radicalised and the opportunity for IS enemies living within Syria etc to escape persecution and death by fleeing to Western countries is significantly reduced when western countries close their borders. This is a win for IS extremists.
We must keep our heads and follow our ethical, democratic and legal traditions. Capture and punish criminals.
ISIS have been boasting for months about sending thousands of operatives into Europe disguised as refugees. They are trying to put all Muslims at war with the west.