COLOGNE – The head of Cologne’s police force is leaving his post “to restore public trust in the police” following scores of attacks on women in the city on New Year’s Eve.

The police’s handling of the night’s events has been sharply criticised.

The violence outside the main railway station has sparked a debate about Germany’s open door policy on migrants.

The anti-immigration Pegida group has said it will hold a demonstration in Cologne on Saturday (today).

Police are expecting about 1000 people to gather in front of the city’s main train station, German media reports say.

Gangs of men described as of North African and Arab appearance were reported to be behind the attacks on New Year’s Eve.

Victims described chaos as dozens of sexual assaults and robberies were carried out with little apparent response from the authorities.

Federal authorities say they have identified 18 asylum-seekers among 31 suspects linked to crimes committed in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.

The suspects include nine Algerians, eight Moroccans, four Syrians, five Iranians, two Germans and one each from Iraq, Serbia and the US.