French anti-terror measures – target the ghettos

#ghettos #charliehebdo #banlieux #france The French authorities have decided to target ghettos as an anti0terror measure in a bid to check terrorist activities as reported in news.sky.com dated 3 February 2015. Already, counter-terrorism operations have been launched across the country following the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
A total of 64 suburbs in many major cities have been identified as ghettos and the admission of Prime Minister Manuel Valls that geographic, social and ethnic apartheid exists in France is a signal that there would be a change in the country's approach to immigration. It also, simultaneously, brings to light the magnitude of the problem.
The condition in the ghettos is bad – there is unemployment of 23% in the banlieux (or suburb of a large city) and, the figure soars to 45% among the young people. The average annual income is around £8,300 and, between a third and half of all families are single-parent while about half are immigrants or their children.
A majority of its population is being left behind economically, thereby they get marginalized into ethnic enclaves, do not have any leader and, hence, are vulnerable to Islamist radicalization. France has to accept the fact that it has different communities within it.
As a part of its anti-terrorism measures, the French interior ministry has designated around 15 Priority Security Zones across the country. These are perceived to be hotbeds of crime and potential hot houses of jihadism. These zones have been reinforced by extra intelligence and uniformed officers, apart from quick-reaction units. They set up road blocks and random checks to look for drugs and weapons.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announces a slew of measures to tackle terrorism

#CharlieHebdo #ManuelValls #paristerrorattack The terror attack in the offices of Charlie Hebdo and the death of 20 persons (including three Islamist gunmen) had taken France by surprise and Prime Minister Manuel Valls has announced a €425m (£326m) program to combat terrorism.
Some of the measures announced include greater surveillance to root out terrorist suspects, augmenting the numbers of intelligence officers, gendarmes and police, apart from better and more sophisticated equipment for security services. It may be recalled that three police officers had lost their lives in the recent attacks in Paris, which started when gunmen stormed the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The improved surveillance programs include measures to prevent youngsters from becoming radicalized, the separation of religious fundamentalists in prisons and the prosecution of those who spread or support terrorism on the internet. In addition to these measures, constitutional experts are examining possibilities of whether convicted terrorists who hold dual nationality can be stripped of their French citizenship.
Already, over 122,000 police and military personnel – including 10,500 troops – have been deployed all over France to protect public places. Moreover, French security services have at present nearly 3,000 people under surveillance. Out of them, about 1,300 were French – or foreigners living in France – and they are suspected of having links with terrorists networks in Syria and Iraq in the past year.

Tourists are avoiding Paris after the Charlie Hebdo terror attack

#CharlieHebdo #Louvre #Paris #EiffelTower #touristsinparis If locals are to be believed, it appears that tourists are avoiding Paris as the French capital continues to reel from the Charlie Hebdo-related terror attacks. Even though the attacks happened nearly two weeks ago and, in spite of reassurances from the Paris tourist board, the tourists are staying away and the local vendors, especially in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower are a worried lot.
The tourist department does not have any data on the extent of drop in footfalls but, the Louvre has revealed that the Education Ministry has suspended school visits to the Paris region, including museums. The reason cited is that the capital was on 'attack alert' status since last week.
Incidentally, the Louvre normally receives several hundred schoolchildren every day, and their absence partly accounts for the thinner crowds. Moreover, mid-January is usually slow as festive tourists return home after their New Year celebrations.
However, with 10,500 troops deployed across the country, including 6,000 in the Paris region alone, the security is on the alert in view of the attacks on French soil.

Terrorists set their sights on Europe – raids conducted in Belgium

#CharlieHebdo #antiterrorraids #Belgium Following the terror attacks in Paris in the offices of Charlie Hebdo, Europe has gone on high alert and have conducted anti-terror raids and arrests of suspected Islamist militants. Reports indicate arrests of more than 20 people in Belgium, France and Germany. As a result, Belgium has now joined France in deploying troops alongside police and security has been tightened in several countries. Last week’s attack in Paris had left 17 people dead.
Obviously, the concerns if security authorities have increased many fold since many young Europeans who had gone to join the jihadists in Syria, are returning back home. They had gone to fight with Middle East militants and would have acquired various types of experience and knowledge connected to terror activities.
It seems in Belgium, five people were charged with "participating in the activities of a terrorist group" – raids had been conducted and two suspects have died. Moreover, guns, munitions and explosives, apart from police uniforms and a large amount of money have been seized by the police during the operation.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the people had the intention to kill several policemen in the street and at police stations. A total of thirteen people were arrested but only five would be prosecuted. Belgium would seek the extradition of two suspects held in France.
Various measures announced by the Belgian government to counter the terrorist threats include making travelling abroad for terrorist activities a crime.
In Paris, twelve suspects are being held by police in connection to the attacks in which 17 persons died. The arrested persons are being interrogated about their possible logistical support they might have given to the three gunmen – support like weapons or vehicles.

EU sounds the alarm bell – 5000 terrorists could return home

#CharlieHebdo #Europol #RobWainwright Young Muslims from European countries had gone to Syria to fight alongside terrorists there and, while many of them would never return because they are dead, nearly 5000 of them are expected to return home and put to practice what they have learnt.
These individuals would return with experience of terrorist activities and would be potential threats wherever they go. That is the warning issued by the director of Europol. These nationals belonging to European Union have traveled overseas and could pose a threat to their home countries if they returned.
The European Union law enforcement agency has already collected the names of 2,500 suspects from agencies across the EU. It may be recalled that one of the two brothers who carried out the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, had travelled to Yemen for terrorist training. He had also recruited others to fight in Iraq and the brothers claimed allegiance to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
As Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol has indicated - it was a group of mostly young men who have the potential to carry out attacks like those carried out in Paris. In fact, Europe is now faced its biggest threat since New York's Twin Towers were destroyed and internet companies could help out and tackle extremist activity online. The social media has now become not just a recruitment tool but also a propaganda tool.

White House admits Paris rally mistake after criticism from US media

#CharlieHebdo #ParisRally #BarackObama #JohnKerry #White House What prompted the US to stay away from the Paris rally is a mystery but, White House has, reportedly, admitted that it was a grave mistake of not sending "someone with a higher profile" to Sunday's Paris unity rally. The US ambassador to France was the highest ranking US official attending.
The admission has come after US media criticized President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry for not attending the rally which followed three terror attacks in Paris – the rally was attended by an estimated 1.6 million people and some 40 world leaders.
White House has explained that President Obama wished he could have attended, however, the extent of security preparation involved for a presidential visit required in excess of the 36-hour advance notice the White House received. Seventeen people lost their lives in attacks in Paris last week at the office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has indicated to reporters in India that he would visit France to reaffirm US solidarity with the country, which he called America's oldest ally. Incidentally, he is fluent in French and had visited the country 17 times since becoming secretary of state.
He would probably arrive in Paris later this week after his trips to India and Pakistan. In the meantime, the White House has announced there would be an international summit in Washington in February on countering violent extremism.

Police believe that six more terror suspects are still lurking in Paris

#CharlieHebdo #ManuelValls #BenjaminNetanyahu In the opinion of the police, as many as six members of a terrorist cell that was involved in the Paris attacks on Charlie Hebdo could still be at large – one of these was a man who was seen driving a car that is registered to the widow of one of the gunmen.
The authorities were searching the Paris area for the Mini Cooper that is registered in the name of Hayat Boumeddiene, the widow of Amedy Coulibaly – the woman, as per Turkish officials, is presently in Syria.
These disclosures have been made even as France has deployed 10,000 troops to protect sensitive sites that take into account Jewish schools and neighborhoods. This has been done following the attacks that killed 17 people last week. Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, apart from Coulibaly, their friend who claimed ties to Islamic extremists in the Middle East, have been killed in clashes with police.
It is not clear on how many members there were in the terror cell. While one of the police officials indicated that the cell consisted of about 10 members, and that "five or six could still be at large" another official believes that the network consisted of about eight people, including Hayat Boumeddiene.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls has remarked that the manhunt is urgent because "the threat is still present." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone to the Paris kosher grocery where four of the hostages were killed by the terrorists.

Paris to send more guards to Jewish institutions to fight terrorism

#CharlieHebdo #Hollande #terrorism #gendarmes It appears to be a case of locking the stable after the horses have fled and, that is what France is planning to do after the terror attack in Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. France would deploy 10,000 troops around the country in order to augment security would be dispatching nearly 5,000 police to protect Jewish sites.
It is, simultaneously, stepping the search for an individual who is believed to be an accomplice to the attackers who killed 17 people last week.
The defense minister of France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has indicated that the deployment was of troops who would guard potentially vulnerable locations. He made these comments after a national security crisis meeting.
The deployment would be of 700 police officers at the 717 Jewish schools across the country apart from nearly 4,100 gendarmes. It may be recalled that four captives had been killed in the hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket in Paris.
The French president, François Hollande who chaired the national security crisis meeting, including prime minister, Manuel Valls apart from the heads of police and the security services. It transpires that all efforts would be made to protect Jewish institutions. Parents of a Jewish school to the south of Paris have been assured of soldiers that would be posted as reinforcements.

Obama did not attend historic Paris rally - American attitude towards Paris terror attack raises questions

#ParisRally #CharlieHebdo The attitude of the USA towards the Paris terror attack has raised many questions. There was no sign of Barack Obama, John Kerry or Joe Biden in the historic Paris rally to express solidarity with more than 40 world leaders from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and even Russia who had gathered in Paris to condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
'France is our oldest ally,' Obama had said during a speech Friday in Tennessee. 'I want the people of France to know that the United States stands with you today, stands with you tomorrow.' However, he gave Paris a miss and had, reportedly, spent part of his Sunday afternoon watching a National Football League game on television.
It seems US Attorney General Eric Holder was in Paris on the day for a security summit, but he did not appear alongside world leaders when they joined an anti-terrorism march in the afternoon - he went to appear on a number of US morning shows.
Why Obama was not in Paris is a mystery but, the fact remains that he was not there even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas put aside their differences and linked arms.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov made the same unifying gesture in the march down the Place de la Concorde in defiance of the Islamist terror attacks that rocked the city last week. Heads of state from every major European power, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, joined French President Francois Hollande.

Paris terror attack engineered by al-Qaida to go one-up on the ISIS

#CharlieHebdo #ISIS #alQaida #AQAP #Paris In the opinion of observers, the terror attack in offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, in Paris has left the West stunned beyond belief was a show of strength by the al-Qaida and an effort to go one-up over the ISIS which is, reportedly vying for the number one position in terrorism.
The attack is seen by some as an exercise in public relations to woo funds from extremist benefactors around the globe and Muslim radical conscripts who appear to be ready to kill and die on command.
Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has admitted that it was behind the Paris terror attack and had directed the jihadist brothers whose commando-style raid has left 12 dead at Charlie Hebdo. It would easily qualify as a coup for the older and more established terror network of al-Qaeda but which has been pushed into the shadows due to the momentum of Islamic State in 2014.
Incidentally, Charlie Hebdo had long angered Muslim extremists throughout the world by publishing demeaning caricatures of Prophet Muhammed. This had led terror groups and religious leaders to demand the ultimate punishment of death of its cartoonists. In the eyes of Muslim extremists, Charlie Hebdo was a high-value target.

Terror attack on offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine sends Britain into a tizzy

#CharlieHebdo #Eurostar #DowningStreet Consequent to terror attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, that left 12 people dead, Britain has intensified security checks at British ferry ports and Eurostar terminals. Of course, 10 Downing Street has said that there was no specific threat to Britain, but extra measures had been put in place as a precaution.
Also, armed police are standing guard outside the French embassy in central London as Cobra met to work out new security measures.
The development are believed to have come as the head of MI5 has issued warnings that the attack at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine was a 'terrible reminder of the intentions of those who wish us harm'. Andrew Parker, director general of the Security Service, has indicated that MI5 would be offering its French counterparts its 'full support'.
The British Government has already sent a specialist counter terror police officer to Paris to beef up the UK's anti-terror team in France. The intelligence does not suggest there is any change in the threat level in the UK but as a precautionary measure, border security is being tightened up. There will be increased car and truck searches; a bit more scanning of freight. Moreover, there will also be increased visible presence in the Gare de Nord in Paris.