Photo Gallery New Year's Eve Attacks in Cologne
Thousands of revelers gathered on the square between the central train station and the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve. German police have said a horde of several hundred young men was responsible for numerous assaults against women.
The scene quickly got out of control, with some people throwing fireworks and glass bottles at police and blocking some officers from reaching people in the crowd calling for help.
An internal police report has revealed that although officers took some offenders into custody, most of the crowd was unfazed by what was described as an insufficient police presence.
A police spokesman said 16 suspects have so far been identified from video footage, although they have not yet been tracked down.
Around three-quarters of the victims of the New Year's Eve violence in Cologne reported some form of sexual harassment. Two said they had been raped.
Police eventually cleared the square but that didn't stop further assaults and robberies from happening. Some witnesses were also threatened when they provided names of perpetrators.
