Thousands gathered for rallies in French cities, standing in solidarity with victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris that killed 12 on Wednesday. At the biggest rally, in Paris, people lit candles and held up their pens to support press freedom.
Paris witnessed a large rally on Place de la République, which is located close to the office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
The attack was presumably triggered by cartoons published earlier by the satirical left-wing paper, which portrayed the Prophet Muhammad. The gunmen reportedly called out the victims by name during the attack, shouting: “We have avenged the Prophet."
The same #JeSuisCharlie hashtag has been treanding on social media, with users stating that the attackers cannot take away their freedom.
”French newspapers placed black banners on their websites reading “Je suis Charlie.”
Thousands gathered in Bordeaux in southwestern France. People rallied in front of City Hall in Rennes, western France.
In Strasbourg, Lyon, Metz, Nantes and Toulouse, tens of thousands took to the streets on Wednesday evening. Other French cities also held vigils.
Protests in support of the Charlie Hebdo victims also took place in Berlin, Brussels, Madrid and London. In Moscow, people paid their condolences by leaving flowers, candles, and cartoons at the French embassy.
Netanyahu: Paris Attack Proves World Must Fight Islamist Terror
Three Suspects In Paris Killings Identified As Manhunt Continues
French Jewish parliamentarian Meyer Habib said Wednesday’s massacre of 12 cartoonists, policemen and others by gunmen at a Paris newspaper was France’s equivalent of the September 11 terror attacks and that jihadi terrorists want “to destroy the entire infrastructure of France.”
“This is a very sad day. This is our September 11,” Habib said.
“We are in a fight against jihadism, against this darkness,” said Habib, who represents French citizens living in Israel and seven other Mediterranean countries in the National Assembly in Paris. “We have to open our eyes.”
Islamist Gunmen Feared Hunting More Targets After Massacring 12
Israel on Wednesday denounced the deadly attack on a French satirical magazine, amid a wave of condemnations from world leaders and French Muslim organizations.
Earlier in the day three gunmen stormed the Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, killing 12, including several prominent French satirical cartoonists, and injuring others.
“On behalf of the citizens of Israel, I offer condolences to the President of France, the bereaved families and the French people,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press statement issued after the attack.
“Israel stands with you on this difficult day. Two years ago we saw a great intensification of international terrorism and terror that originates from radical Islam. Radical Islamic terrorism knows no bounds, and therefore the struggle which must know no borders,” he continued.
“I stood at the UN podium a few months ago, and I said that if the terrorist fanatics of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic State and al-Qaeda will not be stopped here, [the attacks] will spread all over the world, and if we do not fight it consistently, determinedly and unitedly, these horrible acts that we have seen today in Paris, will not be the last, and they will be horrible and difficult.”
Netanyahu said the motive of Islamist terrorists was to “destroy society and nations, to uproot human culture which is based of freedom, and the freedom to choose.”
Therefore, the prime minister continued, “free societies and all civilized people must unite and combat this terrorism.”
“Combating them means physically fighting, fighting against their false arguments, and under no circumstances accepting the various justifications for their motives,” he concluded.
French authorities named three suspects in the deadly shooting at the Paris offices of a weekly newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.
The men were suspected of methodically killing 12 people Wednesday, including the editor, before escaping in a car, in France’s deadliest postwar terrorist attack.
Late Wednesday night, police said an anti-terror raid was under way in the northeastern city of Reims.
The suspects were named as Said Kouachi, 34, Cherif Kouachi, 32 — brothers and French nationals of Algerian descent– and Hamyd Mourad, 18, whose nationality and background could not yet be determined.
One of the brothers had been active between the years 2003 and 2005 in rallies urging French Muslims to join jihadists in Iraq in battle against the US army, Metronews reported.
The suspects’ ID cards were found in an abandoned vehicle near the scene of the attack, according to Ynet.
Eight journalists, a guest and two police officers were killed, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.
“This is a very sad day. This is our September 11,” Habib said.
He spoke hours after masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a weekly newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, killing 12 people, including the editor, before escaping in a car. It was France’s deadliest postwar terrorist attack.
Shouting “Allahu akbar!” as they fired, the gunmen staged a noon-time attack on the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, located near Paris’ Bastille monument. The publication’s depictions of Islam have drawn condemnation and threats before — it was firebombed in 2011.
“We are in a fight against jihadism, against this darkness,” said Habib, who represents French citizens living in Israel and seven other Mediterranean countries in the National Assembly in Paris. “We have to open our eyes.”
Islamist Gunmen Feared Hunting More Targets After Massacring 12
The heavily armed gunmen who murdered 12 people including police officers at the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine in central Paris Wednesday, Jan. 7, got clear away and are feared by French and other European security agencies to be seeking out more targets. They are on the loose with AK-47 assault guns, a supply of ammo, and possibly a grenade launcher. Another 10 people were injured, 5 critically.
France has raised its terror alert to its highest level as it launches a massive manhunt for three killers. Its
France has raised its terror alert to its highest level as it launches a massive manhunt for three killers. Its
European neighbors have also taken precautions.
This act of terror raised a whole new set of concerns. The gunmen conducted themselves in the calm, deliberate manner of trained professional soldiers, rather than crazed suicidal jihadis. Their combat experience was evident, whether from fighting in the Islamic State’s battles in Iraq and Syria or other Islamist arenas.
Three years ago, Charlie Hebdo ran cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad and in the current New Year, poked fun at ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
French security authorities infer that the terrorists, dressed in black and masked, were gunning for predetermined targets from the fact that they carried lists and asked for their targets by name when they passed through the corridors of the magazine building. They then shot the journalists on their list with cold-blooded precision.
According to one unconfirmed report, the Charlie Hebdo editor and lead cartoonist were among the victims.
I heard that there are "no go" zones in France where police and the fire department are not allowed. Only Muslims are allowed in these "no go" zones.....
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