Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris

Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris
1 / 2
French riot police run to disperse protesters during a clash after three people were killed in a shooting in Paris on Dec. 23, 2022, (AFP)
Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris
2 / 2
News of the shooting set nerves jangling in a city that has been repeatedly targeted by Islamist terror groups since 2015. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 24 December 2022
Follow

Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris

Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris
  • The motives of the gunman were unclear
  • French riot police clashed with protestors following the attack

PARIS: A 69-year-old gunman opened fire at a Kurdish cultural center and a hairdressing salon in Paris on Friday, killing three people and injuring three others, witnesses and prosecutors said.
The shots shortly before midday (1100 GMT) caused panic in rue d’Enghien in the trendy 10th district of the French capital, a bustling area of shops and restaurants that is home to a large Kurdish population.
The shooting shook the Kurdish community in Paris and sparked skirmishes between angry Kurds and police. It also rattled merchants in the bustling neighborhood in central Paris on the eve of Christmas weekend and put officers on alert for more violence.
Witnesses told AFP that the gunman, a white Frenchman with a history of racist violence, initially targeted the Kurdish cultural center before entering a hairdressing salon where he was arrested.
Of the three wounded people, one was being given intensive care in hospital and two were treated for serious injuries, officials said.

The Kurdish community center, called Center Ahmet Kaya, is used by a charity that organizes concerts and exhibitions, and helps the Kurdish diaspora in the Paris region.
Within hours of the attack, Kurdish protesters clashed with police, who used teargas in an attempt to disperse them as they tried to break through a police cordon deployed to protect Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin who had arrived at the scene.
Darmanin said the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners and had acted alone and was not affiliated with any extreme-right or other radical movements.
Demonstrators threw objects at police while voicing fury over an attack they saw as deliberate and which they said French security services had done too little to prevent.
Several cars parked in the area as well as police vehicles had their windows smashed as protesters threw bricks.
A gathering outside the cultural center was ongoing on Friday evening after order was restored.
The alleged shooter, named as William M. in the French media, is a gun enthusiast with a history of weapons offenses who had been released on bail earlier this month.
The retired train driver was convicted for armed violence in 2016 by a court in the multicultural Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris, but appealed.
A year later he was convicted for illegally possessing a firearm.
Last year, he was charged with racist violence after allegedly stabbing migrants and slashing their tents with a sword in a park in eastern Paris.
“He is crazy, he’s an idiot,” his father was quoted as saying by the M6 television channel.
He had been held in provisional detention in that case until Dec. 12, when he was released under judicial supervision, ordered to get psychiatric care and banned from carrying weapons.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that “the Kurds in France have been the target of an odious attack in the heart of Paris.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent his condolences, saying “a terrible act has shaken Paris and France today.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his “deepest sympathies” for the victims, writing on Twitter that his thoughts were with the Kurdish community and people of France on this “sad day.”
French authorities are likely to face questions in the coming days over why the gunman had been recently released on bail given his criminal record and previous weapons offenses.
He suffered facial injuries on Friday and had been taken to hospital for treatment.
Darmanin told reporters at the scene that while the attacker “was clearly targeting foreigners,” it was “not certain” that the man was aiming to kill “Kurds in particular.”
“We yet don’t know his exact motives,” he said, while adding that he was not a known member of a far-right political group.
The Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDK-F), an umbrella group for Kurds in France which uses the cultural center as its headquarters, said in a statement it considered the shooting to be a “terror attack.”
Abdulkarim Omar, the representative of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeast Syria to Europe, also condemned the attack as a “cowardly terrorist act.”
Some members of the Kurdish center could be seen weeping and hugging each other for comfort after the shooting which revived traumatic memories of the murders of three Kurdish activities in January 2013.
“It’s starting again. You aren’t protecting us. We’re being killed!” one person could be heard shouting at police at the scene.
The 2013 murders were widely believed to be the work of a Turkish intelligence agent, but the Turkish man arrested and charged with the killings died in 2016 shortly before his trial.
Often described as the world’s largest people without a state, the Kurds are a Muslim ethnic group spread across Syria, Turkiye, Iraq and Iran.
The CDK-F said the attack occurred “following multiples threats from Turkiye, an ally of Daesh.”
There is no indication of Turkish involvement in Friday’s violence.
Ankara launches regular military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — a designated terrorist group by the European Union and the United States — and Kurdish groups it accuses of being allies in Syria and Iraq.
The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, at first seeking a Kurdish homeland and latterly in pursuit of greater political autonomy for Kurds.
(With AFP and Reuters)


Japan relaxes visa requirements for Saudi nationals

Japan relaxes visa requirements for Saudi nationals
Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

Japan relaxes visa requirements for Saudi nationals

Japan relaxes visa requirements for Saudi nationals
  • The scheme will come into effect on Dec. 4

Japan on Wednesday announced the relaxation of visa requirements for Saudi nationals, introducing multiple-entry visa schemes for Saudis who meet certain financial requirements.

According to the Japanese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, the new visa was introduced for short-term stays for the purpose of tourism, business, and visiting relatives or friends. It will be granted for a period of 90 days with a validity of three years.

The scheme will come into effect on Dec. 4, and will require applicants to visit the embassy or consulate-general in order to submit their application.

“We hope the several visa relaxation measures the Government of Japan has taken will make the relationship between the people of Japan and Saudi Arabia closer and deeper,” the embassy said in a statement.

 


Ukraine says downed 21 drones, missiles in overnight attacks

Ukraine says downed 21 drones, missiles in overnight attacks
Updated 56 min 31 sec ago
Follow

Ukraine says downed 21 drones, missiles in overnight attacks

Ukraine says downed 21 drones, missiles in overnight attacks
  • Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last winter left millions in the cold and dark for extended periods

Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine said Wednesday that its air force had destroyed nearly two dozen Russian attack drones and several missiles in Moscow’s latest aerial assault on targets across the country.
Officials in Kyiv say Russian forces have been stockpiling drones and missiles for systematic attacks on Ukraine’s struggling energy grid over winter months.
“In total, the strike involved: 21 Shahed-136/131 strike drones; three X-59 guided missiles,” Ukraine’s airforce announced on social media, claiming to have downed all the drones and two of the missiles.
It said it used fighter jets, anti-aircraft and mobile air defense units to down the drones and missiles in southern and central regions of Ukraine.
It added that the third missile, which was not downed, did not reach its target. There was no immediate comment from the Russian side.
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last winter left millions in the cold and dark for extended periods.
The Kremlin said Kyiv was ultimately responsible for not entering negotiations.


US military aircraft crashes into ocean near Japan’s Yakushima island

US military aircraft crashes into ocean near Japan’s Yakushima island
Updated 29 November 2023
Follow

US military aircraft crashes into ocean near Japan’s Yakushima island

US military aircraft crashes into ocean near Japan’s Yakushima island
  • Local residents report the aircraft had fire blowing from its left engine as it fell into the sea

TOKYO: A US military Osprey aircraft crashed into the ocean near Japan’s Yakushima island on Wednesday with eight people on board, Japan’s coast guard said.

A spokesperson for the coast guard said it had no further details of the incident including the safety of those onboard.

The crash happened at around 2:47 p.m. local time, with local residents reporting the aircraft had fire blowing from its left engine as it fell into the sea, Japanese broadcaster MBC reported.

A spokesperson for US forces in Japan did not immediately have comment.


Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus

Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus
Updated 29 November 2023
Follow

Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus

Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus
  • Rohingya escape escalating brutality in the camps in and around Cox’s Bazar
  • Bangladesh defense ministry identifies at least 11 armed groups operating in the camps

LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia: Holding his son’s hand in a temporary shelter in Indonesia, Rohingya Mohamed Ridoi says he made the dangerous 12-day sea journey from massive refugee camps in Bangladesh to escape the pervasive threats of kidnapping, extortion and murder.
The 27-year-old said he was starting a “peaceful life” in a temporary shelter in Indonesia’s western Aceh Province, where more than 1,000 Rohingya people have arrived this month, the largest such influx since 2015.
He and others said they fled escalating brutality in the camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, which hold more than one million people and where gangs regularly abduct and torture residents for ransom.
“One of the groups kidnapped me and demanded 500,000 Bangladeshi taka ($4,551) to buy their guns,” Ridoi, who left with his wife, two children and his brother, said.
“They told me that if I couldn’t give them the money, they would kill me.”
He said he eventually paid 300,000 taka for his release last month and, within weeks, he was on a boat to Indonesia, arriving on November 21.
“We are not safe in Bangladesh. That is why I decided to go to Indonesia to save me and my family’s life,” he said.
Having first fled state-backed persecution in Myanmar — including a 2017 crackdown that is subject to a UN genocide probe — the refugees now find themselves pushed to undertake weeks-long journeys of more than 1,800 kilometers on packed, rickety boats.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and says it is not compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, but neighboring countries have shut their doors, meaning they have almost no other options.
More than half a dozen boats have arrived in Aceh since November 14, and monitors say more are on their way, despite some locals turning arriving boats back to sea and stepping up patrols on the coast.
Human Rights Watch reported this year that criminal gangs and alleged affiliates of Islamist armed groups were causing fear at night in the Bangladesh refugee camps, which now number more than two dozen.
The Bangladesh defense ministry has identified at least 11 armed groups operating in the camps, but rights groups say Dhaka is not doing enough to protect refugees from the violence.
These gangs, vying for control and involved in activities like drug smuggling and human trafficking, have specifically targeted Rohingya community leaders and activists.
Aisha, 19, arrived in Aceh on the same boat as Ridoi with two children and her husband.
“They asked for money every night, threatening to abduct my husband. I couldn’t sleep at night because of them,” she said via an interpreter.
Bangladesh police say about 60 Rohingya people have been killed in violence in the camps this year.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of HRW, said it appeared the Bangladeshi government “doesn’t care” about the refugees’ fate.
“The bottom line is the Bangladesh government just wants all the Rohingya to go back to Myanmar as soon as possible — even if (it) means subjecting the refugees to conditions of absolute misery in the camps so that they leave.”
Aisha, the young mother, said fear of the criminals pushed her family to pay 200,000 taka ($1,819) to illegal middlemen for her family’s boat journey to Indonesia, despite the risks.
Aisha said she preferred to “die at sea than in the camp.”
“I looked for a safe place for my children, hoping they could study and get an education,” she said.
Chris Lewa, director of Rohingya rights organization the Arakan Project, said food shortages were also worsening camp conditions and entire families were now leaving, instead of just groups of young men as seen previously.
“Now, the profile is different, now we have many families. Before there was not many,” she said.
“Nowadays we see small children, there are many families making their way. They just want to be away from Bangladesh.”
Aisha and her children now share a windowless room in a shelter in the Aceh city of Lhokseumawe with more than a hundred other women and minors, sleeping on mats on the floor without a fan in the tropical heat.
Aisha said that it was still much better than living in fear in the Bangladesh camp.
Ridoi also hoped that his decision to bring his family to Indonesia would bring a better life for his sons.
“I am not qualified to be a doctor or engineer, but I am doing my best to make them one,” he said.
“My children are everything to me.”


Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 

Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 
Updated 29 November 2023
Follow

Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 

Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 
  • Seven students were detained last week after a student filed complaint accusing them of raising anti-India slogans and cheering for Pakista
  • Police said they were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after they found video evidence of them raising anti-India chants

SRINAGAR, India: Indian police arrested seven students in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region under anti-terror laws for allegedly celebrating Australia’s victory over India in the men’s Cricket World Cup final earlier this month, police said on Tuesday. 

A senior police official said seven students from an agriculture university were detained last week after a student filed a complaint accusing them of raising anti-India slogans and cheering for Pakistan along with Australia after the match. 

Claimed in full but ruled in part by India and Pakistan, Muslim-majority Kashmir has seen a bloody insurrection against New Delhi for decades, with militants fighting security forces since the 1990s. 

Tens of thousands of people have been killed although the violence has been reduced in recent years. 

India blames Pakistan for supporting the Muslim insurgents. Pakistan denies this and accuses India of violating the rights of Kashmir’s Muslim people, a charge India rejects. 

Police said the seven students were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after they found video evidence of them raising anti-India chants. UAPA deals with inciting or advising any unlawful activity and is punishable with seven years’ imprisonment. 

Family members and lawyers of the accused were not immediately available for comment. 

Political leaders from local parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s rule over J&K said the arrests were a method to intimidate locals. A local policeman said however the chants “terrorized” those who are pro-India. 

Muslims in J&K have in the past cheered for the competing side in India cricket matches as a way of protesting Indian rule. 

“It is shocking that cheering for a winning team too has been criminalized in Kashmir,” said the region’s former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. 

Australia had entered the World Cup match as clear underdogs against an all-conquering India side, who had won 10 matches in a row to storm into the final. But India was defeated in the final match on Nov. 19.