Cologne's mayor and police will conduct crisis talks to respond to a wave of sexual assaults on New Year's Eve around the city's main train station and its famed cathedral, which have left German authorities and the public reeling.
Mayor Henriette Reker - who made international headlines in October after she was stabbed on the campaign trail, partially due to her pro-refugee stance - will meet with local and federal police to discuss the mass assaults, which have been described as "a completely new dimension of crime."
Officers received 60 sexual assault complaints and one allegation of rape, from women who described the perpetrators as a group of roughly a thousand men that looked as if they were of "Arab or North African descent," police chief Wolfgang Albers said Monday.
The police expect more victims to come forward in the coming days.
Five men were arrested on the scene on Friday. Police investigations are ongoing.
The incident plays into widespread fears in Germany about the mass influx of refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond.
Police and politicians have warned that right-wing populist groups may be using reports of the crimes to stir up anti-refugee sentiment.
