Anti-Semitic attack by Syrian and Afghan men in Germany

A Syrian and an Afghan were arrested in northern Germany on Sunday on suspicion of attacking and robbing a French man who was wearing a kappa.

Police said the 49-year-old was in a waiting room at Puttgarden ferry port on Saturday when the two men, saying “Jew” in Arabic, pushed him to the floor. They stole a bag containing cash, a bank card, a train ticket and a mobile phone.

The two men had been denied entry to Denmark the previous day because they lacked the correct papers and were waiting for a train to a refugee centre.

This attack follows an assault on a group of Pakistanis and a Syrians in Cologne amid tensions over New Year’s Eve assaults in the city.

These assault have been blamed largely on foreigners, German police said.

Six Pakistani nationals were attacked on Sunday by a group of around 20 people and two of them were briefly admitted to hospital, police said.

Authorities and witnesses said the New Year’s Eve attackers were among a group of about 1,000 people described as predominantly Arab or North African who gathered at Cologne’s central railway station. Some broke off into small groups and groped and robbed women, police said.

Cologne police say 516 criminal complaints have now been filed with them in connection with the New Year attacks. About 40 percent involve allegations of sexual offences.