After riots on New Year's Eve in the city of Borna south of Leipzig, investigators are looking for witnesses.

The Leipzig criminal police have started investigations into suspected breaches of the peace and have activated a portal where witnesses can upload cell phone videos of what happened a week ago, the police said.

Around 200 people rioted on the city's market square on the night of New Year's Eve, causing serious damage to property.

Stephen Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

  • Follow I follow

According to those involved, some rioters initially tried to use pyrotechnics to light the Christmas tree set up in the market square.

When the police then showed up, the officers were attacked from the crowd with rockets and New Year's firecrackers.

An emergency vehicle was damaged.

In addition, the group is said to have fired pyrotechnics at the town hall, damaging the facade and window panes.

Some suspects were masked with ski masks.

Whether Nazi slogans such as "Sieg Heil" were shouted from the crowd is also the subject of the investigation.

Two 19-year-old Germans who were initially arrested have since been released.

They are also being investigated for breach of the peace, according to the police.

Borna's Lord Mayor Oliver Urban (SPD), who showed a photo of a newspaper kiosk destroyed on the night of the crime on his Facebook page, spoke out in favor of no firecracker zones in the city.