Muslim Migrants Targeted after New Year’s Eve Assaults in Cologne, Views on Migrants Sour

Muslim migrants are reportedly being targeted in the German city of Cologne after details regarding the assaults on New Year's Eve surfaced.

According to the police, six Pakistani men and one Syrian man were attacked on Sunday in separate incidents. Two of the Pakistani men were hospitalized for minor injuries. They have since been released.

The attacks at the hands of about 20 unknown assailants came after tensions in the city have soared due to the multiple sexual assault cases that occurred on Dec. 31.

The police noted that so far, there is no clear link between the recent attacks on Muslim migrants and the New Year's Eve events.

Based on an internal police report, men, who were described to be migrants of North African and Arab origins, were reportedly groping, sexually harassing and robbing women throughout the night as they were celebrating night long festivities. The report noted that two women were raped.

The police stated that so far, 31 people have been arrested in relation to the attacks. 18 of them had been people who sought out asylum in Germany. Officials added that the attacks, which occurred after hundreds of men gathered by the city's main train station, appeared to have been coordinated.

Overall, there were more than 500 criminal complaints filed that night with about 40 percent of them being sexual assault complaints.

Since the attacks, there were talks of deportation as punishment. German officials, however, also stressed the importance that the public does not generalize the actions of these men.

The German Justice Minister, Heiko Mass, stated that as "abominable as the crimes in Cologne and other cities were, one thing remains clear: there is no justification for blanket agitation against foreigners."

According to a recent poll conducted by the Forsa Institute, one-third of the Germans surveyed stated that their opinions regarding foreigners have worsened since the attacks. 57 percent of the people stated that they were afraid that more refugees could lead to an increase in crime.

Germany is known to be very welcoming to refugees. In 2015, the nation took in 1.1 million refugees.