A #KnifeAttack in the Southern French city of #Nice on 29th October 2020 killed people and injured many. Nice’s mayor, Christian #Estrosi said, that the attack had happened in or near #NotreDameChurch and was similar to the beheading earlier this month, near Paris of a teacher Samuel Paty, who had used cartoons of the #Prophet Mohammed in a Civics class.
The suspected attacker is a 21-year-old Tunisian, who is now admitted in a hospital with injuries after killing an elderly woman in the Church. According to the BBC reports, ‘Police sources earlier named the attacker as #Brahim Aioussaoi. They said he had travelled by boat from Tunisia to the Italian island of Lampedusa in September. He was placed in Corona virus quarantine there before being released and told to leave Italy.
The other suspect escaped to a pub nearby, but later died succumbing to the injuries. This incident is speculated to have occurred in the context of the controversy over #Charlie Hebdo’s decision to republish the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. The recent knife attack is the latest in a series of the terror attacks in France, over the last eight years that killed more than 200 people.
French President Emmanuel #Macron has referred to this heinous incident as, ‘Islamist terrorist attack’ as it continues to feed into France’s #Islamophobic narrative. Nice’s Mayor Christian Estrosi spoke of “#Islamo-fascism” and said the suspect had “repeated endlessly #Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)”. Two other attacks took place on Thursday, one in France and one in Saudi Arabia. A man was shot dead in #Montfavet near the southern French city of Avignon after threatening police with a handgun. A guard was attacked outside the French consulate in Jeddah in #Saudi Arabia. A suspect was arrested, and the guard was taken to a hospital.
Three victims were attacked inside the basilica before the first Mass of the day. A 60-year-old women was ‘virtually #beheaded’ and a 55-year-old man’s throat was slit. The male victim was a lay member of staff responsible for guarding the church. He reportedly had a wife and two children. Another 44-year-old woman managed to flee to a nearby café after being #stabbed several times but died later.
A representative of the French Council for the Muslim Faith strongly condemned the attack and said, “As a sign of mourning and solidarity with the victims and their loved ones, I call on all Muslims in France to cancel all the celebrations of the holiday of #Mawlid.”
“Enough is enough”, Estrosi said. “It’s time now for France to exonerate itself from the laws of peace in order to definitively wipe out Islamo-fascism from our territory”.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra #Modi on Thursday tweeted, “I strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks in France, including today’s heinous attack in Nice inside a church. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the people of France. India stands with France in the fight against #terrorism.”
The #Mumbai Police on Friday removed pictures of France President Emmanuel Macron, which had been pasted on Mohammed Ali Road and at Dongri in Nagpada by organisations in protest against the President’s perceived attacks on Islam. Organisations like Raza Academy had posted pictures of Macron on the doorsteps of various shops. Some of these pictures were also posted on the roads with the intent for the people and vehicles to trample them.
Mohammad Saeed Noori, general secretary of Raza Academy said, “We did this to protest against the disrespect that has been shown to the Prophet”. Attacking the state government over the incident, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said: “France is raising its voice against Islamic terrorism while here, this government is standing behind those who are supporting #fanatic Islamic terrorists.”
As The Hindu has rightly reported, the recent attack in France reveals the ‘#failure of the government’s preventive measures that include credible intelligence gathering and deradicalization efforts, nor its combative postures work in ending the terror run’.
– Arishmita Aditya
– Silchar
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54729957
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Picture Sources:
Wall Street Journal
Times of India
