French PM: 15,000 under surveillance over suspected militancy
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says more innocent people will be killed in the terrorist attacks that threaten the country as around 15,000 people are suspected of being radicalized.
Paris has been on high alert since last week when a “terror cell” affiliated with the Daesh terrorist group was dismantled by French police.
"This week at least two attacks were foiled," said Valls during an interview broadcast on Sunday. He added that people suspected of being radicalized or in contact with terrorist groups are currently under surveillance by the police and intelligence services.
"No excuse can be found for terrorist acts, for murders, no excuse can be found but we must always try to... I've never said the contrary… obviously we must always find explanations, reasons, in order to fight terrorism better, of course," he noted.
"There will be new attacks, there will be innocent victims... this is also my role to tell this truth to the French people," he added.
Recently, former president Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a crackdown on suspected militants via the establishment of special courts and detention facilities in the country.
“He is wrong about trying to wring the neck of the rule of law," stressed Valls.
During an interview with the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Sarkozy claimed the French detention centers would not be like Guantanamo as "in France, any administrative confinement is subject to subsequent control by a judge."
Guantanamo, established by former US President George W. Bush, was used to detain prisoners gathered up overseas when the United States became embroiled in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. The prison has become a symbol of aggressive detention practices that opened the US government to accusations of torture and harsh interrogation techniques.
France remains on alert since January last year. Terrorist attacks, mostly claimed by Takfiri terrorists based in the Middle East, have rattled the country ever since. Dozens of people were killed on a night in Paris in November 2015, while 86 people were killed two months ago when a truck rammed into a crowd in a southern resort in Nice.
French intelligence services warned recently that terrorists might use new tactics by leaving explosive devices near sites that attract large crowds, especially those visited by foreign tourists. They said the “new form of attack” could trigger huge casualties while the perpetrator could escape unharmed.
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