Germany: Riot between police and immigrants on the fringe

Clusters broke out at a weekend during a fest near Stuttgart between police and youth, mainly immigrants, some of whom are also accused of sexual assault, police said today.

A 20-year-old Iraqi who has requested asylum in Germany is allegedly sexually harassing a young woman Friday night. On Saturday night Sunday, three Afghans aged between 18 and 20 have held a 17-year-old prison against their will and ruled it, according to local police spokesman, Roland Eisele.

The suspects were arrested, but the judicial authorities did not order them to be detained, pending the ongoing investigation, Ezeile added at a press conference in Sordford, where the incidents occurred.

Police say three sexual assaults so far but the spokesman has called on women who may have been victims to inform the authorities.

"Many people from abroad originally participated in these groups, but they were not exclusively foreigners," he said, referring to the young people accused of inciting the episodes. He added that he was unable to tell how many of the perpetrators were immigrants.

The clashes between police and dozens of young people broke out on Saturday night on Sunday. The troubles were cut off by a crowd of about 1,000 people who participated in the annual Fairfax of Sorrento, a city of 40,000 inhabitants.

The young men fired bottles against police and other attendees, the local police chief said, explaining that many of the perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol. At some point the situation went out of control and the police officers were forced to call for aid.

According to Eisele, witnesses testified that "some youngsters" were running in the streets of the city armed with knives and one holding an air pistol.

At Belfeld, in the same area of ​​Baden-Württemberg, on the evening of Saturday there was an episode on the sidelines of a small local festival starring 12 drunken Afghan immigrants. Police authorities identified three of them, aged 17, 18 and 20. They also reported that some young ladies complained that they had sexually harassed them and that they broke it.