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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

PARIS, FRANCE: "Confronted with Scenes of real Urban Guerilla Warfare"

Tuesday, 27 Nov 2007, 13:07 PM CST
Scores of Police Hurt in Paris Riots

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, FRANCE: Rampaging youths rioted for a second night in Paris' suburbs, firing at officers and ramming burning cars into buildings. At least 80 officers were injured, a senior police union official said Tuesday.

The overnight violence was more intense than during the three weeks of rioting in 2005, said the official, Patrice Ribeiro. He said "genuine urban guerrillas with conventional weapons and hunting weapons" were among the rioters.

On Monday night, youths were seen firing buckshot at police and reporters. About 30 of 82 injured officers were hit by buckshot, Ribeiro told The Associated Press. Rioters also hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at police, authorities said. Police made at least six arrests, authorities said.

Youths, many of them Arab and black children of immigrants, again appeared to be lashing out at police and other targets seen to represent a French establishment they feel has left them behind.

"Police officers were targeted with hunting weapons; a certain number of them were wounded by lead shot," said Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie. "This is totally unacceptable," she said, adding there were six serious injuries, "people who notably were struck in the face and close to the eyes."

The use of firearms added a dangerous new dimension to the rioting. Firearms are widespread in France, and police generally carry guns. Such weapons, though, were rarely used in the 2005 riots that spread to poor housing projects nationwide.

The current riots were triggered by the deaths of two teens killed in a crash with a police patrol car on Sunday in Villiers-le-Bel, a blue-collar town in Paris' northern suburbs.

Residents claimed that officers left the crash scene without helping the teens, whose motorbike collided with the car. Officials cast doubt on the claim, but the internal police oversight agency was investigating... -- Source: ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press/MyFox, N.E. Wisconsin, click here for the full story...

Youth Riots Hit France Again
Associated Press - (APTN)
Nov. 27, 2007. 06:53 AM EST
Violence broke out in French suburbs after two teens were killed in a crash involving a police patrol car. The rioting left at least 77 officers injured and comes a little more than two years after similar protests ravaged the country. (Nov. 27)
Posted by Paul Anderson at 13:45.24
Edited on: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 14:44.25
Categories: Counter-Terrorism, Intelligence, Protests/Demonstrations/Riots