Daniela Ritorto presents this special edition of
BBC World Breaking News, recorded at 1200hrs
SGT on 14 Nov
2015. The near-simultaneous attacks in
Paris that killed at least 130 people and wounded 352 were an "act of war" organised by
Islamic State, says
France's
President Francois Hollande. He said the attacks, carried out by eight gunmen and suicide bombers, were "organised and planned from outside".
__________________________________________________
Related video:
* "2015 - France -
Anonymous Hackers Declare War on "Islamic State" - 16/11/15" @ https://youtu.be/x-xdJVTZkIU
* For more info on the
November 2015 Paris Attacks, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks
__________________________________________________
(
BBC News, 14 Nov 2015) - France has declared a national state of emergency and tightened borders after at least 130 people were killed in a night of gun and bomb attacks in Paris.
Eighty people were reported killed after gunmen burst into the
Bataclan concert hall and took dozens hostage.
The siege ended when security forces stormed the building.
People were shot dead at bars and restaurants at five other sites in Paris. Eight attackers are reported to have been killed.
Police believed all of the gunmen were dead but it was unclear if any accomplices were still on the run after the string of near-simultaneous attacks.
Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and about 1,
500 military personnel are being deployed across the city.
The gunmen's motives were not immediately confirmed, but one witness at the Bataclan heard one of the attackers appear to express support for the militant Islamic State (IS) group.
"
It's Hollande's fault, he shouldn't have intervened in
Syria!" the man shouted, according to
French news agency
AFP, citing the
French president's decision to take part in
Western air strikes on IS.
Paris saw three days of attacks in early January, when Islamist gunmen murdered 18 people after attacking satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo, a
Jewish supermarket and a policewoman on patrol.
Busiest time
The attack on the 1,500-seat Bataclan hall was by far the deadliest of Friday night's attacks.
Gunmen opened fire on concert-goers watching US rock group
Eagles of Death Metal. The event had been sold out.
The series of attacks not far from the
Place de la Republique and the
Place de la Bastille struck at the heart of the capital when cafes, bars and restaurants were at their busiest.
Customers were singled out at venues including a pizza restaurant and a Cambodian restaurant.
The other target was the
Stade de France, on the northern fringe of Paris, where President Hollande and 80,
000 other spectators were watching a friendly international between France and
Germany, with a TV audience of millions more.
The president was whisked to safety after the first of at least two explosions just outside the venue to convene an emergency cabinet meeting. Three attackers were reportedly killed there.
As the extent of the bloodshed became clear, Mr Hollande went on national TV to announce a state of emergency for the first time in France since
2005. The decree enables the authorities to close public places and impose curfews and restrictions on the movement of traffic and people.
Within an hour, security forces had stormed the concert hall and all four attackers there were dead. Three had blown themselves up and a fourth was shot dead by police.
Another attacker was killed in a street in eastern Paris, reports said.
Speaking after arriving at the concert hall, President Hollande said the attackers would be fought "without mercy".
US President Barack Obama spoke of "an outrageous attempt to terrorise innocent civilians".
UK PM David Cameron said he was shocked and pledged to do "whatever we can to help".
Paris Mayor Ann
Hidalgo announced that all schools, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools and markets would be shut on Saturday.
__________________________________________________
Analysis:
BBC's Europe correspondent
Damian Grammaticas
What happened in Paris on Friday night is exactly what Europe's security services have long feared, and tried to foil. Simultaneous, rolling attacks, with automatic weapons and suicide bombers in the heart of a major
European city, targeting multiple, crowded public locations.
Were the attackers
French citizens? If so, how they were radicalised, armed and organised - was it in France, in Syria, and by whom? Why weren't they detected? Is France, after two major attacks this year, uniquely vulnerable or does the carnage in Paris mean all of Europe faces new threats to our public places and events? And if a
Syrian link is proven, will France recoil from that conflict or will it redouble its commitment to the fight against radical groups there?
Source:
http://www
.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34820016
__________________________________________________
- published: 14 Nov 2015
- views: 28761