Second Suspect arrested in Knife attack that killed in church attack: Worldwide Muslim Protests against France erupt
Anger worldwide against President Macron of France supporting the use of Cartoons as expression of free speech has triggered angry protests and mobs, Al Jazeera reports.
Tens of thousands of Muslims – from Pakistan to Bangladesh to the Palestinian territories – poured out to join anti-France protests on Friday, as the French president’s promise to protect the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad continues to roil the Islamic world.
Protestors hanged images of President Macron, some chanting “World Muslims united,” “Macron will pay a high price,” “Stop Islamophobia,” and “Macron is Satan.”
Muslim county allies even condemned the stance the West is taking against the killings of those expressing free speech or those who practice Christianity, AP reported.
“Thursday’s attack in Nice also drew condemnations from leaders of countries that had voiced outrage over the caricatures, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt.
Erdogan of Turkey has been very local against what he perceives as Islam phobia in the West.
European Leadership fired back:
European Union and European council leadership stood firmly with France and President Macron New Europe reported. “Diplomat Josep Borrell condemned the comments made by Turkish President Erdogan, after the latter questioned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron’s mental health due to Paris’ policy towards Islam and Muslims.
“The President’s words @RTErdogan with regard to the President @Emmanuel Macron are unacceptable. Call on Turkey to stop this dangerous spiral of confrontation,” Borrell wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday.
He was referring to a bombastic speech by Erdogan: With subtitles in English)
In another tweet, Borrell condemned the heinous acts against the innocent in Nice.
VOA NEWS UPDATE: Knife-Wielding Man Kills 3 in French City of Nice
Police in France have detained a second suspect in connection with Thursday’s deadly knife attack at a church in the city of Nice.
The suspect is a 47-year-old man believed to have been in contact with the attacker the night before the attack at Notre Dame Basilica, according to a judicial official, who was not authorized to be publicly named.
In Tunisia, authorities are reportedly investigating whether a group called the Mahdi Organization carried out the attack. The state news agency TAP reported Friday investigators were also trying to determine whether the group exists and that the probe is based on claims of responsibility on social media.
Authorities have identified the attacker as a Tunisian national, 21-year-old Ibrahim Issaoui. He was shot and seriously wounded by police Thursday and remained hospitalized Friday in life-threatening condition.
France 24 added that the attacker had a copy of the Koran, three knives and two mobile phones with him, France’s according to anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard.
The assailant used a 19 centimetre (7 inch) knife to cut the throat of a 60-year-old woman, who died inside the church.
The body of a man, a 55-year-old church employee, was found nearby inside the basilica — his throat had also been slit. A woman stabbed multiple times dies shortly after.
By Lisa Bryant VOA News
French authorities are treating a knife attack that left at least three dead and several injured at a church in the South of France as an act of terrorism.
Officials say the attack took place Thursday morning at Nice’s Notre Dame Basilica. Two people died inside the church, officials say, with at least one reportedly decapitated. A third person, who was severely wounded, managed to flee the church but died shortly after.
EXTERNAL NOTE from France 24:
- At around 9am on Thursday, an unidentified suspect killed three people and injured several others at a church in central Nice. Two of the victims were killed inside the church and at least one was beheaded, according to a police source. The third victim died while seeking help in a nearby bar.
- The suspect was wounded by police and has been hospitalised.
- Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi has described the attack as an act of terrorism and said the suspect repeated the words “Allahu Akbar” as he was being treated for his wounds after being apprehended by police.
Separately, police shot dead a man armed with a knife in the southern French city of Avignon. And in Saudi Arabia, a man was arrested after wounding a guard in front of the French consulate in Jeddah.
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi characterized the attack in his city as a terrorist incident. He said it was again the victim of what he called ‘Islamo-fascism.” He said the suspect, taken to a hospital after being wounded during a police arrest, did not stop saying “Allah Akbar” during his detention.
The attack comes as France prepares to enter a new coronavirus lockdown — and after two other recent knifings, also blamed on radical Islamists and linked to controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed. The knifings include the beheading of French school teacher Samuel Paty outside Paris.
More broadly, it appears to mark the latest in a raft of Islamic terrorist attacks to hit France in recent years — including a 2016 jihadist attack in Nice.
President Emmanuel Macron’s recent defense of the cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in the name of free speech has sparked protests and boycotts in a number of Muslim countries. Many Muslims are deeply offended by the cartoons. But here in France, thousands of people have rallied in favor of free expression, including several prominent Muslim leaders.
France’s National Assembly observed a moment of silence for the latest attack victims, and French Muslim leaders urged the faithful to cancel Thursday’s Mawled celebrations marking the Islamic prophet’s birthday. European and other governments have also sent messages of condolence and condemnation of the Nice attacks.
NOTE: The Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi speaks to all of the Christians of France as Christians are under attack by Islamofacisme.