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Latest update: 22/03/2012
- crime - France - French military - Jews - shootings - terrorism
'Gunman' calls FRANCE 24 hours before pre-dawn siege
Hours before French police laid siege to the home of Mohamed Merah early on Wednesday, a man claiming to be the serial shooter phoned FRANCE 24 to explain his motives for the killings. A prosecutor later confirmed the phone call was genuine.
By FRANCE 24 (text)
Mohamed Merah, accused of killing four people outside a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday, called FRANCE 24 in the early hours of Wednesday – a call France’s chief prosecutor Francois Molins later confirmed was genuine.
He rang the news room two hours before French police surrounded his home in the south-western city of Toulouse, starting a standoff that was to last 32 hours until he was killed when commandos raided his flat on Thursday morning.
Merah, who said he was affiliated to al Qaeda in France, also said he was the gunman who murdered three paratroopers in Toulouse and nearby Montauban in two separate incidents the previous week.
Speaking to FRANCE 24’s senior editor Ebba Kalondo for 11 minutes in “clear French”, he said that his actions were part of a “much larger campaign” and that the country could expect further attacks in Lyon, Marseille and Paris.
He told Kalondo he had carried out the attacks in protest against France’s decision to ban women from wearing the full Islamic veil and because of the country’s military presence in Afghanistan.
He said “the victims were chosen at random” and that anyone “bolstering the operation in Afghanistan” or “working for the Sarkozy machine” was a target.
Asked why he had killed four Jewish people – including three children – at a school in Toulouse on March 19, he said: “The Jews kill our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”
Kalondo explained that Merah, whom she said sounded in his early 20s and had a “slight accent”, gave graphic and precise information about the killings that would have been known only to the shooter and to police investigating the crime.
Details included the number of bullets fired and the fact that he had lost the magazine from one of his handguns at the site of the second shooting on March 15, in which two paratroopers were killed.
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(7) Reactions
Why was senior editor Ebba Kalondo smiling all the time?
I'm French, living in the USA. I watched yesterday the interview gave by senior editor Ebba Kalondo on CNN and was very surpised by the way she kept on smiling and even laughing when she talked about the events. She looked like she was very excited about the fact she got some exclusive information and was contacted directly by the gunman. That didn't look too professional to me and it was such a contrast with the US TV anchor who was at least trying to show it was a very sad and tragic event. Seriously, children died in that tragedy. Who cares if she got some exclusive scoop! More reserve and empathy would have been appreciated. Very unprofessional.
long siege
Sarkozy should get me there, put me in charge of the force around the murderer's place, with orders that they follow my orders to the letter & I can guarantee you all that he will be captured dead or alive within one hour or less.
"Caracal"
killing
This is a tragedy.The same as the children in Afghanistan that were butchered by American soldiers.
WHEN YOU KILL INNOCENT
WHEN YOU KILL INNOCENT CHILDREN YOU ARE A MONSTER WITHOUT A CAUSE, DEFYING GOD'S NAME AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD. These monsters that cause terror and sorrow around us should be taken out of society
FALSE FLAG
This is total BS, let's see how long before we find out his CIA ties. This IS the Gov't trying to get us all in hate wars to support the US/Israel santctions on Iran and further their desires to wage a unnecessary war against the middle east AGAIN.
Terror in Toulouse
this may well trigger copy cat acts, and indeed the killer said other similar things were planned. The root cause is the lack of purpose in the lives of many young moslems, which fundasmental Islamism inflames, but doesn't answer. Israel's non movement with the Palestinians is an obvious rallying point for hatred for all jihadists. Israel should resume negotiations, not buckle to terror. If israel is rocketted by Hamas it should respond with continue overwhelming force . Force is one thing jihadists understand.
Gunman explains actions
"Asked why he had killed four Jewish people – including three children – at a school in Toulouse on Monday, he said: “The Jews kill our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”
What we do know is that when there is injustice, people fight back in any way they can. Sarkozy has said that all French people stand with the Jews against this terrorism, as all people should. Reducing injustice will not end senseless killings, but it will assure less reason for anger.
Did Sarkozy, France, or the U.S.A. stand with the Palestinians during 50 years of the most brutal ethnic cleansing that continues today? We know this shooter justified the brutal and callous murder of innocent women and children, but so did France, the U.S.A., and England while Israel did the same. Israelis have said they believe in the forced removal of Palestinians from land that is their patrimony, and have said how it is to be done:
"We need to be accurate about the timing, place and those we hit. If we accuse a family - we need to harm them without mercy, women and children included. Otherwise it is not an effective reaction. During the operation there is no need to distinguish between the guilty and the not guilty."
From the Notebooks of David Ben-Gurion 1948
The ethnic cleansing of Palestine goes on today. It is time for Sarkozy and all decent people to stand up against injustice, even when our friends are the abusers and killers.
When we stand up against all injustice, we make ourselves and our own children safer. It is not easy to stand up for people we don't know, but it is the right thing to do.