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31 people were arrested, 24 police officers injured and 40 cars burned in overnight unrest.
France braces for protests as Macron slams ‘inexcusable’
police shooting of teen driver
French President Emmanuel Macron called the shooting death of a 17-year-old delivery driver by police “inexcusable” and pleaded for calm while justice takes its course. The government heightened the police presence in Paris and other big cities Wednesday after the killing triggered a night of scattered violence.
Issued on: 28/06/2023 - 15:47
3 min
Text by: NEWS WIRES
France24
Firefighters work to put out a burning car on the sidelines of a demonstration in Nanterre, west of Paris,
on June 27, 2023, after French police killed a teenager who refused to stop for a traffic check in the city.
© Zakaria Abdelkafi, AFP. video 1:55.
The death of 17-year-old Nael during a traffic check Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre elicited nationwide concern and widespread messages of indignation and condolences. French soccer star Kylian Mbappe tweeted: “I hurt for my France.” Nael's surname has not been released by authorities or by his family.
Nael's mother called for a silent march Thursday in his honor on the square where he was killed, while French activists renewed calls to tackle what they see as systemic police abuse. Government officials condemned the killing and sought to distance themselves from the police officer's actions.
“Nothing justifies the death of a young person,” Macron told reporters in Marseille, calling what happened “inexplicable and inexcusable.”
Em - Maybe you should actually find out what exactly happened before you throw your police officers under the bus. I find it hard to believe that a police officer would shoot a child at point blank for no reason at all.
Videos of the incident shared online show two police officers leaning into the driver-side window of a yellow car before the vehicle pulls away as one officer fires into the window. The car is later seen crashed into a post nearby.
The victim, who was driving the car, was wounded by a gunshot and died at the scene, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. A passenger in the car was briefly detained and released, and police are searching for another passenger who fled.
Anger over the killing spawned unrest in multiple towns around Paris. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 31 people were arrested, 24 police officers injured and 40 cars burned in overnight unrest.
The police officer suspected of firing on Nael remains in custody and faces potential manslaughter charges, according to the Nanterre prosecutor's office.
The Nanterre neighborhood where Nael lived remained on edge Wednesday, with police on guard around the regional administration and burned car wreckage and overturned garbage bins still visible in some areas. Bouquets of orange and yellow roses were tied to the post where the car crashed after the shooting, on Nanterre's Nelson Mandela Square.
Speaking to Parliament Wednesday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, “The shocking images broadcast yesterday show an intervention that clearly appears as not complying with the rules of engagement of our police forces.”
Liz - Can you see what is happening inside the vehicle? Can you hear what is being said? Is the cop guilty without even a trial or a chance to explain? He may be guilty of manslaughter and may deserve to go to prison, but, at least, allow him due process. Don't convict him because the Muslim community has no self-control.
Deadly use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States. Tuesday’s death unleashed anger in Nanterre and other towns, including around housing projects where many residents struggle with poverty and discrimination and feel police abuse is under-punished.
Several people have died or sustained injuries at the hands of French police in recent years, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests against racial profiling and other injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota.
Macron called for calm and for respect for Nael's loved ones. Asked about police abuses, he said justice should be allowed to run its course.
Interior Minister Darmanin said 1,200 police were deployed overnight and 2,000 would be out in force Wednesday in the Paris region and around other big cities to “maintain order.”
A lawyer for Nael's family, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press they want the police officer pursued for murder instead of manslaughter, and want the investigation handed to a different region because they fear Nanterre investigators won't be impartial.
This reporter has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid using the word Islam. This is Islam, and another example of how explosive Islamic hysteria is. France can never be safe with an ever-increasing population of Muslims who can be triggered instantly into furious chaos.
The lawyers rejected a reported statement by the police officers that they believed their lives were in danger because the driver had threatened to run them over.
Mbappe, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Bondy, was among those who were shocked by what happened.
“I hurt for my France. Unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go to the family and loved ones of Nael, this little angel gone much too soon,” he tweeted.
(AP)
Armenian soldiers killed by Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh
Four Armenian soldiers were killed on Wednesday by Azerbaijani fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, said separatist authorities in the breakaway region, which has been at the centre of a decades-long territorial dispute between the Caucasus enemies.
Issued on: 28/06/2023 - 09:19
Text by: NEWS WIRES, France24
1 min
Armenian soldiers guard a checkpoint on the road leading to Kalbajar, near the village of Charektar,
on November 25, 2020. © Karen Minasyan, AFP
On Wednesday morning, "units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened artillery fire" on Armenian positions, the Artsakh Defense Army said, adding there were "four servicemen who were killed in action as a result of another provocation by Azerbaijan".
In a later statement the group said that the situation along the border was now "relatively stable".
The news came as the United States mediates three days of new peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in its latest attempt to quell a conflict that has flared repeatedly.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened closed-door talks with the adversaries' foreign ministers just outside Washington on Tuesday, in the second such negotiation session he has led in as many months.
Russia has historically been the mediator between the two former Soviet republics but the United States and European Union have been increasingly active as Moscow gets bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine.
Armenia has repeatedly accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to live up to promises to protect ethnic Armenians in line with a 2020 ceasefire negotiated by Moscow after six weeks of fighting left thousands dead.
Russia last week pressed Azerbaijan to let traffic through the Lachin corridor that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh -- a predominantly ethnic Armenian area effectively controlled by Yerevan since war during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Azerbaijan had blocked access for convoys delivering aid to Karabakh, raising concerns of shortages of food and medicine.
Azerbaijan has insisted that civilians and aid convoys can travel through.
(AFP)
Where is Turkey in this mess? My suspicion is that the newly re-elected Erdogan wants to rebuild the Ottoman Empire while he can and is using Azerbaijan as a proxy to start a war with Armenia, that Christian thorne in the side of Islam.
Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia
Muslim mayor of Keighley apologises and resigns after raising LGBTQ flag
5Pillars, June 20, 2023
The Muslim Tory mayor of Keighley in West Yorkshire, Cllr Mohammed Nazam, has apologised to Muslims and resigned after taking part in an LGBTQ Pride flag-raising ceremony.
Cllr Nazam was suspended by the Conservative group on Bradford Council once his comments came to light and later announced he would quit as mayor.
He said: “In relation to media reports about my suspension from the Conservative Party, I had already resigned from the Conservative Party and as a Keighley Town Mayor with immediate effect.
“A few days ago I attended the flag raising for LGBTQ community. This did not conform to my religious beliefs and hence I offered an apology to my constituents.
“By my apology I did not mean any harm to any member of my constituency. My religion teaches respect and tolerance for all and the law of the land….
Following Mohammed Nazam’s resignation Keighley Town Council issued the following statement: ·
“This afternoon Cllr Mohammed Nazam has resigned as Town Mayor with immediate effect. The Town Council will meet in due to course to elect a new Mayor for the remainder of the Municipal year.
“The Town Council has a long record of supporting and celebrating all sections of the amazingly diverse Keighley community. The Pride flag will continue to fly proudly in the Town Hall Square for the remainder of Pride Month as planned.
“As a Council we recognise the hard work of organisations, such as, Keighley Pride undertake to celebrate PRIDE annually and raise awareness of the challenges faced by many in the LGBTQ community. The Council will continue to do whatever it can to support similar groups and the wider LGBTQ community.”…
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