Joanne Sam
31st October 2020
France- Two women and one man were stabbed to death, and many others injured in the 'terrorist' attacks at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice, France, on Thursday the 29th of October 2020. The police shot BrahimAouissaoui—a 21-year-old Tunisian male suspect shortly after the incident, near the church.
The investigation into this case has been opened, and France is on high alert. According to CNN, the 55-year-old man and the 60-year-old woman were found dead with their throats cut. The 44-year-old woman, though stabbed repeatedly, was able to flee but died at a nearby restaurant. The suspect is still in critical condition after he underwent an operation at a nearby hospital.
France in a state of 'urgency' after 3 stabbed to death. Anti-terror military force deployed across the country (Source- CNN)
The French government has deployed 4000 troops to protect citizens from similar incidents in the future. Nice's mayor—Christian Estrosi strongly believes that France should take steps to wipe out Islamo-fascism from the country.
Anti-terror prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said that a 12-inch knife was used to commit the crime and a Qur'an was found in Brahim’s possession. Two other knives that were found at the church. The French President—Emmanuel Macron labeled the attack an 'Islamic terrorist attack' after a visit to the crime scene. "I say it with great clarity once again today: we won't surrender anything," he firmly stated in support of the value of freedom of speech, which had perchance instigated the attacks.
The Washington Post reports that the attack was possibly a result of the cartoons that calumniate Prophet Muhammed and was carried forth in line with the beheading of the Parisienne teacher —Samuel Paty. Although the police have not released the murders' motive, the incident occurred after protests and boycotting all French goods in various Muslim majority countries. According to DW News, the French newspaper Le Figaro claims to have gained access to a police report stating that the suspect had psychiatric issues and thus the attack cannot be directly fall under terrorism.
The Times of India reported that a representative of the Muslim faith in the French council declared, "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 (29th October was the birthday of Prophet Muhammed)". Turkey offered their condolences to the grieving families as the Turkish Foreign Minister said that no reason is good enough to justify a murder. The day ended with a tribute to the deceased by ringing church bells across France.
(Sources- CNN, BBC, Times of India, The Washington Post, DW News)
Edited by- Hithesh Jain