France probes terror motive after man shoots dead Tunisian neighbour
The shooting late on May 31 in Puget-sur-Argens, in the southern region of Var, came after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims.
The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim's ethnicity or religion.
But French national anti-terror prosecutors, known by their French acronym PNAT, announced on June 2 that they would be taking over the investigation.
The suspect wanted to 'disrupt public order through terror', according to a source close to the case.
The suspected killer, a Frenchman born in 1971, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police.
He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on May 31, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.
The victim, who was born in 1979, was shot five times. The Turkish national was wounded in the hand and needed hospital treatment, the prosecutor said.
'Swore allegiance to French flag'
The suspect, a sports shooting enthusiast, 'posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack', the prosecutor said.
According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect said he 'swore allegiance to the French flag' and called on the French to 'shoot' people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media.
The PNAT prosecutors said on June 2 that they had opened an investigation into a 'terrorist plot' motivated by the race or religion of the victims.
'The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer,' said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination non-governmental organisation.
'This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months,' it said, denouncing a 'poisonous climate' in the country including the 'trivialisation of racist rhetoric'.
Aboubakar Cisse of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25.
A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticised for never travelling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors.
On June 2, Mr Retailleau denounced the murder of a Tunisian man, calling it a 'racist act'.
'Racism in France and elsewhere is a poison, and we can see that it is a poison that kills,' Mr Retailleau told reporters.
'Every racist act is an anti-French act.'
He added that he had spoken on the phone with the Tunisian ambassador to France.
He later spoke to his Tunisian counterpart, Mr Khaled Nouri, who 'condemned a terrorist crime', according to an official government statement.
Mr Nouri urged French authorities to 'ensure the protection of the Tunisian community on French territory', the Tunisian statement added. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Story and alert on Malian army is withdrawn
An alert and story on the Malian army saying more than 149 soldiers had been killed by militants from an al Qaeda-linked group was based on a fake press release and is being withdrawn. STORY_NUMBER: S8N3U7005 STORY_DATE: 20/08/2025 STORY_TIME: 1443 GMT REUTERS
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
'Bury weapons, not children,' Kurdish mothers tell Turkish lawmakers
FILE PHOTO: An armed PKK fighter places a weapon to be burnt during a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS /File Photo ANKARA - The mothers of some fighters in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) called on Wednesday for an amnesty for their children and an end to decades of death, before a Turkish parliamentary commission overseeing the group's disarmament. "We mothers do not want to cry anymore. Let us bury weapons, not our children," Nezahat Teke, a Kurdish mother speaking in broken Turkish, told lawmakers on behalf of a group called the "Peace Mothers". The PKK, which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, said in May it would disarm and dissolve and last month several members burned weapons in a symbolic ceremony in mountainous northern Iraq, where it is now based. The commission, dubbed the National Solidarity, Fraternity and Democracy Commission, aims to set a path towards lasting peace, which would also resonate in neighbouring Syria. "If we want more weapons to be burned, then those people must be given a chance. If they come down from the mountains only to be sentenced to life in prison, how can we persuade others to burn their weapons?" said Teke, who was wearing a white headscarf, the symbol of the Peace Mothers. More than 40,000 people have been killed over four decades of conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK, which is deemed a terrorist group by Ankara, the European Union and the United States. Rebia Kiran, another mother, asked lawmakers to adopt regulations shielding PKK members from lengthy prison sentences. "If you want peace, let them join politics instead of being locked away," she said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying schoolmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore COE premiums up in all categories except motorcycles; Cat A price climbs 2.5% to $104,524 Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch The calls for amnesty came a day after the commission heard some Turkish veterans and families of other victims call for PKK members to face legal accountability as part of the peace process. REUTERS
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
US forces conduct raid in northern Syria against IS target, sources say
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ATMEH, Syria - U.S. forces took part in a pre-dawn raid in northwestern Syria early on Wednesday that targeted a member of the Islamic State group, a U.S. official and a Syrian security source said. A second Syrian security source and Syria's state-owned Al-Ikhbariya said the target was killed as he tried to escape. It was the second known raid in northern Syria by U.S. troops since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December. The Islamist-led government that replaced him has pledged to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State and is part of an anti-IS alliance that includes the U.S.-led coalition fighting the group. It was not immediately clear who the Islamic State member targeted on Wednesday was. The U.S. official said he was a suspected high-value target. The first Syrian source said he was an Iraqi national and was married to a French national. It was not immediately clear what happened to his wife. The Pentagon did not immediately have any public comment on the reports. The operation began at around 2 a.m. (1100 GMT), according to the Syrian security sources and neighbours in the town of Atmeh, in Idlib province. Helicopters and drones provided air cover, one Syrian security source and residents said. Local Syrian forces set up a cordon around the neighbourhood but U.S. forces conducted the actual raid, the second security source said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for S'poreans: IPS study Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore COE premiums up in all categories except motorcycles; Cat A price climbs 2.5% to $104,524 Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore MyRepublic's policy of not imposing download speed limits to stay after takeover: StarHub Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch Abdelqader al-Sheikh, a neighbour, said he was up late with his son and heard a noise in the yard next door. "I called out, 'who are you?' and they started speaking to me in English, telling me to put my hands up," Sheikh told Reuters. He said the armed forces stayed on the roofs of surrounding houses for the next two hours and that he could hear someone nearby speaking Arabic in an Iraqi accent. In July, the Pentagon said its forces had conducted a raid in Aleppo province resulting in the death of a senior Islamic State leader and his two adult Islamic State-affiliated sons. Idlib has been a hiding spot for senior Islamic State figures for years. U.S. forces killed IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the village of Barisha in Idlib province in 2019 and his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, in Atmeh in 2022. REUTERS
