[h=1]Cologne hits back: Merkel backs new powers to expel migrant criminals as anti-Islam protesters take to streets and police admit 'majority' of sex attackers were refugees[/h]
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PUBLISHED: 15:52, 9 January 2016 | UPDATED: 01:11, 10 January 2016
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a toughening of expulsion rules for convicted refugees as protesters took to the streets against sexual attacks by gangs of migrants.
The supporters of the xenophobic Pegida and women's rights groups descended on the streets of Cologne, where many carried anti-refugee banners.
Merkel declared today that refugees who have committed a crime - even those who have not been given jail terms - should be required to leave Germany.
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- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a toughening of expulsion rules for convicted refugees in Germany
- Around 1,700 protesters from the anti-Islam Pegida movement were kept apart from 1,300 counter demonstrators
- Under potential new rules, migrants who commit a crime, even if they have not been to prison, could be kicked out
- German police confirmed the number of cases of violence reported from New Year Eve has now reached up to 379
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PUBLISHED: 15:52, 9 January 2016 | UPDATED: 01:11, 10 January 2016
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a toughening of expulsion rules for convicted refugees as protesters took to the streets against sexual attacks by gangs of migrants.
The supporters of the xenophobic Pegida and women's rights groups descended on the streets of Cologne, where many carried anti-refugee banners.
Merkel declared today that refugees who have committed a crime - even those who have not been given jail terms - should be required to leave Germany.
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