[ad_1]
With thousands of soldiers in front of schools and places of worship, France wants to protect itself from possible new attacks. Another suspect was arrested in Nice and there were demonstrations in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Following the knife attack in Nice, which left three dead, the French government increased protection for schools and places of worship. Soldiers from the national anti-terror mission “Sentinelle” are also deployed for this purpose. This was announced by the Minister of the Army, Florence Parly, after the meeting of a Defense Council headed by the Head of State Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
7,000 security personnel will be mobilized, including 3,500 gendarmerie reservists from the armed forces, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin added. France is in a “war against Islamist ideology,” Darmanin told RTL radio station. Unfortunately, you have to accept that more acts are possible. There will be a special reinforcement with 120 policemen for Nice.
France declared the highest level of security. The largest Muslim community in Europe lives in the country. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that French institutions abroad, such as schools, would also be protected. “The threat is everywhere,” he said.
Tunisians came to Europe via Lampedusa
France’s lead counterterrorism investigator Francois Ricard said the alleged perpetrator, a Tunisian born in 1999, arrived in Europe on September 20 on the Italian island of Lampedusa. He had arrived in Nice by train and then headed for the church. There he beheaded a 60-year-old woman and stabbed the 55-year-old sexton.
He also stabbed a 44-year-old woman who was able to flee to a nearby cafe and raise the alarm before she died. When the police arrived at the scene, the attacker kept shouting “Allahu Akbar”. The man was shot by police and taken to hospital. He is in critical condition.
Since then, another suspect has been arrested after the attack. The 47-year-old man is suspected of having been in contact with the alleged perpetrator the day before the crime, a spokesman for judicial authorities said.
Tunisia investigates Islamist organizations
The Tunisian authorities are also investigating the alleged perpetrator. According to the country’s law, any Tunisian who is involved in acts of terrorism will be prosecuted, regardless of whether they are at home or abroad, said a Tunisian judicial spokesman.
The authorities had initially stated that the man was not known there as a suspected extremist. A representative of the judiciary later admitted that the suspect had been arrested in 2016 for violence and use of a knife. In addition, the Tunisian authorities launched investigations against a “Mahdi organization” that claimed responsibility on social media, according to the official TAP news agency.
Italy: no warning received
The attack is already sparking heated political debates in Italy. Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese rejected allegations that Italian authorities could be partly responsible for the knife attack in Nice. The attack on the French coastal city was an “attack on Europe”. He confirmed that the Tunisian terrorist suspect entered the European Union in Italy more than a month ago.
He received an expulsion on October 9, which he ignored, Lamorgese said. Neither the Tunisian authorities nor the secret services had issued any warnings to Italy about the danger posed by the man.
No “specific threat situation” in Germany
A spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry said there is currently “no specific threat situation” in Germany. The danger of Islamist terrorism still exists, although it is currently abstract in nature. The security authorities observed the situation “very closely”.
There are currently 620 known Islamist threats in Germany, 350 of which are currently in the country. The rest are gone again.
Demonstrations in Bangladesh and Pakistan
Meanwhile, there were again demonstrations against France in several predominantly Muslim countries. Tens of thousands took to the streets in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. They called for a boycott of French products and carried banners describing President Emmanuel Macron as “the world’s greatest terrorist.”
Protesters also took to the streets in Pakistan. In the capital Islamabad, the police used tear gas against thousands of protesters who marched towards the French embassy. There were also protests in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza, and Somalia. Australia and India criticized the protests and sided with France.
The tensions were sparked by Macron’s statements in defense of freedom of expression following the alleged Islamist attack on a teacher near Paris who was showing Muhammad cartoons in his class. The president stressed that France “will not renounce cartoons and drawings.”
