Published 18:14 IST, October 30th 2020
France on alert; likely to witness more attacks, says France's Interior Minister
France's Interior Minister on Friday warned about the possibility of more such attacks, saying that the enemy was 'both inside and outside' the country
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As France continues its crackdown on extremism, following multiple terror attacks and subsequent attempts by Islamist radicals, France's Interior Minister on Friday warned about the possibility of more such attacks, saying that the enemy was 'both inside and outside' the country.
"We are in a war against an enemy that is both inside and outside. We need to understand that there have been and there will be other events such as these terrible attacks," Damarnin told RTL radio.
France sees rise in militant attacks
Over the last five years, France has witnessed a rise in Islamist militant attacks which started with the bombings and shootings in 2015 in Paris that left over 130 dead. After the 2015 Paris attacks, France, which harbours Europe's largest Muslim population, witnessed its second terror attack in Nice, when a militant drove a truck through a seafront crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people in 2016.
This year, on October 16, a French teacher was brutally beheaded in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine by a man who shouted “Allahu Akbar”, outraged after the teacher showed cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in class. The knife-wielding attacker was shot by the police as they tried to arrest him in the aftermath of the attack.
Days later, three people lost their lives in a brutal knife attack inside a church in the Southern French city of Nice. The French media reported that one of the three victims, a 60-year-old woman was brutally decapitated by the attacker, in a similar manner by a man who shouted “Allahu Akbar”. Apart from the three deceased, which includes a sexton, several others have been injured in the incident.
As the country witnesses another surge of radical terror, President Emmanuel Macron, this time, has announced a strong crackdown on Islamist terror, his tough stance, sending waves of displeasures across Islamic nations. The President has also deployed 7000 soldiers to protect important sites such as places of worship and schools, and France's security alert is at its highest level.
(With Agency Inputs)
18:14 IST, October 30th 2020