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WORLD NEWSSaturday 5 March 2016
Attacks in German town blamed on far-right ‘guerrilla’
FRANK JORDANS Their alleged crimes includ- 20 years. state of Brandenburg. local council meeting and
Associated Press ed an arson attack in Au- Police on Tuesday arrested “One gets the impression damaging offices of a left-
BERLIN (AP) — A string of at- gust on a gym intended as a local councilman for the that a kind of ‘right wing ur- wing party.
tacks in the eastern town of temporary housing for refu- National Democratic Party ban guerrilla’ was active in The alleged ringleader,
Nauen near Berlin was likely gees. Nobody was injured who is suspected of form- Nauen over the past year,” 29-year-old NPD council-
committed by an anti-im- in the fire but the building ing a “criminal organiza- said Karl-Heinz Schroeter, man Maik Schneider, was
migrant “guerrilla” group was destroyed in what au- tion” intent on committing Brandenburg’s interior min- arrested the same day
led by a local member of thorities described as the crimes against migrants ister. The group is also sus- Germany’s highest court
Germany’s biggest far-right worst attack on a refugee and foreigners, according pected of setting alight a opened hearings on a bid
party, officials said Friday. shelter in the state for over to prosecutor in the eastern Polish man’s car, storming a to outlaw the party. q
IRA-style booby trap bomb wounds prison officer in Belfast
S. POGATCHNIK Assistant Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Stephen Martin addresses me- terrorist agency MI5 has
Associated Press dia at PSNI headquarters in Belfast, as they investigate the attempted murder of a prison officer in maintained Northern Ire-
DUBLIN (AP) — Irish Repub- Northern Ireland Friday March 4, 2016. land’s terror alert rating at
lican Army die-hards tried “severe,” the second-high-
to kill a Belfast prison officer (David Young/PA via AP) est level, for several years,
with an under-car booby meaning the next attack is
trap bomb and are plot- ing personal vehicles. Such independence for the pre- their lapels, the Easter lily. highly likely soon.
ting to kill Northern Ireland bombs typically detonate dominantly Catholic south Martin said he expected The British Parliament law-
security forces as the 100th under the driver’s seat of Ireland but kept the IRA splinter groups still ac- maker for East Belfast,
anniversary of an Irish re- when the vehicle travels fledgling state of Northern tive in Northern Ireland Gavin Robinson, said the
bellion against British rule uphill or downhill. Ireland within the United to mark the approach of linkage of today’s IRA at-
approaches, a police com- Easter has been a focal Kingdom. Easter “in an entirely more tacks to the bloody rebel-
mander warned Friday. point for Irish republican The Republic of Ireland gov- sinister way ... by killing po- lion a century ago “once
Stephen Martin, assistant militancy dating to 1916, ernment plans major public lice officers, prison officers again demonstrates the
chief constable of the when 1,500 rebels seized commemorations and cul- or soldiers.” He said police dangers of glorifying such
Northern Ireland police, is- key Dublin buildings in a bid tural events in Dublin for the were raising their threat past violence.”
sued his threat assessment to overthrow British rule. The 100th anniversary later this level anticipating more at- While the major IRA fac-
hours after a 52-year-old Easter Rising, though militar- month, when government tacks to “the upper end of tion, the Provisionals, has
prison officer was wounded ily futile, inspired a 1919-21 leaders don the traditional severe.” observed a cease-fire since
when a small bomb partly war with Britain that won symbol of Irish rebellion on The British domestic anti- 1997 and officially disarmed
detonated under his van. in 2005, smaller rival groups
The man had just left his all styling themselves as the
home in Protestant east “true” IRA continue to plot
Belfast to go to work when gun and bomb attacks in
police believe the bomb hopes of undermining the
fell off of the vehicle as it British territory’s 1998 peace
drove over a speed bump. accord and its Catholic-
The officer, a 28-year vet- Protestant government.
eran of the prison service, “There are still people out
underwent surgery for un- there who hate the peace
specified wounds and was process, who don’t want to
reported in stable condi- see our society moving for-
tion. ward, who pursue a hope-
For decades, IRA fac- lessly futile cause,” said
tions have used bombs Martin McGuinness, who
attached to a vehicle’s once commanded the
undercarriage to target Provisional IRA and today
politicians, judges, off-duty is the senior Irish nationalist
police, soldiers and prison in the Northern Ireland gov-
officers while they’re driv- ernment. q
Germany, France push for joint EU solution to migrant crisis
PARIS (AP) — Indepen- try’s resources, Merkel said Macedonia. provide a ship to the NATO cost of fully restoring border
dent national measures to at a joint news conference “Unilateral solutions do not force deployed in the Ae- controls between EU mem-
tackle the migrant crisis are with French President Fran- help us,” Merkel said, add- gean Sea — between Tur- ber states would be as high
counterproductive, Ger- cois Hollande in Paris. ing Europe needs to work key and Greece — to help as 18 billion euros ($20 bil-
man Chancellor Angela The two leaders met ahead closely with Turkey to stop Europe’s external border lion) a year.
Merkel said Friday as she of a summit of EU and Turk- the flow of migrants, and control. More than 1.2 million peo-
met with her French coun- ish leaders to discuss the also to secure its outer bor- As temporary controls be- ple applied for asylum for
terpart in Paris to push for a migrant crisis Monday. The ders. Germany and France tween several member the first time in the EU last
joint European solution to Balkan countries and Aus- agree that the EU has to states are reimposed to year, more than double the
the problem. tria have recently intro- protect its external border deal with the migrant crisis, number in 2014. The EU’s
Border slowdowns and clo- duced tight restrictions to to preserve freedom within some fear a full collapse statistics agency said Friday
sures along the migrant stem the flow of migrants. Europe, get away from in- of the borderless Schen- that most people applying
route through Europe have That has resulted in thou- ternal border controls and gen zone through most of in the 28 EU countries were
just meant that people are sands of refugees and oth- for security reasons, Merkel the EU. The EU’s head of- Syrian, Iraqi or Afghan na-
now piling up in Greece, er migrants being stranded said. fice, the European Commis- tionals. It said 362,800 Syr-
overwhelming the coun- by Greece’s border with Hollande said France will sion, has estimated that the ians applied for asylum. q
