Outrage over Charlie Hebdo cartoon of Syrian drowned boy

Satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo is causing outrage again - this time by suggesting drowned refugee boy, Alan Kurdi, would have grown up to become a sex attacker.

The funeral of Alan Kurdi in September as his father Abdullah al-Kurdi (centre) lowers him into the ground Source: AAP

A drawing in the publication Charlie Hebdo suggested Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy found dead on a Turkish beach in September last year, would have grown up to be a sex attacker has caused outrage online.

The cartoon depicts two male creatures running after terrified women with the caption: "What would have become of the young Alan if he had grown up? A groper in Germany."

Sexual assaults on women in Cologne and other German cities on New Year's Eve, many blamed on migrants, have prompted more than 600 criminal complaints and caused a backlash against German Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies on refugees. More than one million entered Germany last year, more than any other European country.

The cartoon was published a week after the anniversary of attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, which killed 12 people in January last year.

The phrase "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie"), was swiftly adopted by supporters online.

This time, many people on social media said the cartoon was offensive, while others argued Charlie Hebdo was keeping to its usual provocative tone to stir debate on European attitudes to the migrant crisis.

The image of Alan lying face-down on a Turkish beach last September appeared around the world and prompted a wave of sympathy for the plight of refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.