March Through Paris Honors Terror Victims


French President Francois Hollande briefly led hundreds of thousands of people through the streets of Paris on Sunday, in a massive demonstration to show solidarity with the victims of a terror spree last week that killed 17 people.

More than 40 heads of state from Europe, the Middle East and Africa linked arms to form a human chain with Hollande, as crowds swelled behind them at the "unity" rally. While Paris police said the turnout was "without precedent" but too large to count, most media accounts said as many as 1 million people took to the streets on Sunday.

Immediately to Hollande's left, walked German Chancellor Angela Merkel and to his right Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. France intervened to help fight Islamist rebels there two years ago to the day.

Among the scores of world leaders were British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The United States was represented by Attorney General Eric Holder.

After world leaders left the march, Hollande stayed to greet survivors of the Charlie Hebdo attack and their families.

Later Sunday night, Hollande and Netanyahu attended a memorial ceremony at the Grand Synagogue in Paris for the victims of Friday's terror attack at a kosher supermarket.

Acts of terrorism

French officials have called the January 7 massacre at the Paris offices of the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo and a series of deadly attacks that followed acts of terrorism.

A video of one of the alleged perpetrators that emerged posthumously on social media Sunday describes the killings as retribution for the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State air campaign, in which France is a partner.

This screengrab taken on Jan. 11, 2015, from a video released on Islamist social networks shows a man allegedly claiming to be Amedy Coulibaly.
This screengrab taken on Jan. 11, 2015, from a video released on Islamist social networks shows a man allegedly claiming to be Amedy Coulibaly.
It shows a man believed to be Coulibaly, who French police say is tied to the fatal shooting of a policewoman and a deadly siege of a kosher grocery store after the newspaper attack.

French police also announced Sunday that a gun used to hold up a kosher grocery store in Paris on Friday was the same used in an assault that seriously wounded a jogger two days earlier.

Coulibaly was killed when police stormed the market. Four hostages were killed in that attack.

Holder announced from Paris Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama would invite world leaders to Washington February 18 for a summit on countering violent extremism.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said from India on Sunday no act of terror would halt "the march of freedom."

"We may all come from different walks of life, but we stand together this morning with the people of France, as they march in tribute to the victims of last week's murderous attack on the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. And we stand together not just in anger and outrage, but in solidarity and commitment to the cause of confronting extremism," Kerry said.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Sunday in Israel before leaving for Paris that he will convene a special ministerial team to increase Jewish immigration to Israel from France and the rest of Europe, adding "the state of Israel is not only the place you pray for, the state of Israel is also your home."

Security is expected to remain tight across the nation for weeks as investigators continue their hunt for the girlfriend of one of three gunmen killed Friday as the two hostage dramas riveted television viewers across the world.

Female suspect

Police originally suspected that 26-year-old Hayat Boumeddiene, described as armed and dangerous, was at the supermarket when her partner, Amedy Coulibaly, killed four hostages before being shot dead by security forces. 

But Turkish officials quoted Saturday said the woman entered Turkey January 2 and is now likely in Syria.

Boumeddiene has been pictured in the past wearing traditional female Islamic clothing and shooting a crossbow.

Coulibaly was an associate of brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi. The siblings -- killed in a separate shootout Friday -- have been identified as perpetrators of Wednesday's attack on the staff of Charlie Hebdo. 

The publication had gained recognition for creating and publishing cartoons lampooning the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Twelve people, including eight journalists and two police officers, were killed in that rampage.

As security forces closed in on the brothers Friday outside Paris, Said Kouachi told reporters by phone that he received training and financing from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP. He mentioned his ties to Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who by 2011 had become a senior figure in AQAP and its public face. 

Awlaki was killed in September 2011 in Yemen when two U.S. Predator drones operated by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command targeted his vehicle.

AQAP training

American, European and Yemeni sources confirmed that Said Kouachi trained with AQAP, which has publicly praised the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. An audio recording posted on YouTube and attributed to a leader of the group said the attack was prompted by insults to the Prophet Muhammad.

Police in Germany said Sunday they have detained two men suspected of an arson attack against a newspaper that republished the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad seen in Charlie Hebdo.


SOURCE: VOA News