A far-right protest planned for New Year’s Eve in Cologne has been banned amid security fears – 12 months after a wave of sex attacks on women in the city.
Police in Cologne have already announced plans to deploy more than 1,500 officers – over 10 times more than last year when officers failed to prevent a string of assaults and robberies blamed largely on foreign men.
But authorities have now refused permission for a demonstration by the far-right National Democratic Party and have set up road blocks to prevent anyone driving into crowds.
The road barrier scheme emerged days after an ISIS fanatic drove a lorry through crowds of revellers at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
Police chief Juergen Mathies said the demonstration would have drawn large numbers of counter-demonstrators and endangered security.
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