BERLIN (AP) — Hundreds of anti-Islam demonstrators and leftwing counter protesters have taken to the streets ofCologne in response to a string of New Year’s Eve sexual assaults and robberies in the city blamed largely on foreigners.
Police said Saturday that some 1,700 protesters from the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement were kept apart from 1,300 counter demonstrators in simultaneous protests outside the city’s main train station.
Right-wing demonstrators hold a sign “Rapefugees not welcome – Stay away!” and a sign with a crossed out mosque as they march in Cologne, Germany Saturday Jan. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Juergen Schwarz)
Police said four people were taken into custody and the PEGIDA demonstration was shut down early after protesters threw firecrackers and bottles at some of the 1,700 police on hand. No injuries were immediately reported.
Earlier, hundreds of women’s rights activists gathered outside Cologne’s landmark cathedral to rally against the New Year’s Eve violence.
A right-wing demonstrator with a tattoo reading : ‘Proud and Free’ marches in Cologne, Germany Saturday Jan. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Juergen Schwarz)
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