Paris attacks suspect tells court he is ‘a soldier of Islamic State’
Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has told a court he is “a soldier of Islamic State”.
Abdeslam is among 20 men on trial accused of being involved in the 2015 atrocities at the Bataclan music theatre and other venues.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) terrorist attacks, which took place on 13 November 2015, killed 130 people and injured hundreds more.
The car, left, carrying Salah Abdeslam arrives at the Palace of Justice
Nine gunmen and suicide bombers struck within minutes of each other at France’s national football stadium, the Bataclan concert hall, and restaurants and cafes in the city.
Police secured the area near the courthouse, on the Ile de la Cite, during the arrival of a convoy believed to be carrying the defendants, and a heavy security presence remains in place.
The alleged lone survivor of the IS group, Abdeslam, is expected to be the key defendant in the trial and is the only one charged with murder.
French Gendarmes secure near the Paris courthouse on the Ile de la Cite
The same IS network went on to strike Brussels months later, killing another 32 people.
Abdeslam, who abandoned his rental car in northern Paris and allegedly discarded a malfunctioning suicide vest before fleeing home to Brussels, has refused to speak to investigators.
He will be questioned several times throughout the trial, which is expected to last around nine months.
The 31-year-old arrived in court on Wednesday, dressed in black, and was seated behind a reinforced glass partition in the purpose-built courtroom.
He is thought to hold the answers to key questions about the attacks and the people who planned them, both in Europe and abroad.
People arrive for the start of the trial of the Paris’ November 2015 attacks
Lawyers, journalists, victims and families who lost loved ones have packed out the court for the opening of the country’s biggest criminal trial in history.
France’s justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti has called for the trial to follow “centuries-old rules”, saying “the whole world is watching us” and the country must “live up to the logistic challenge”.
He added: “13 November 2015 plunged all of France in horror. There was a before and an after. These events, in effect, have become part of our history and of course, our collective memory.
“The justice system must not be lacking, concerning these events.”
Six of the 20 men accused will be tried in absentia, with five believed to have likely died in Syria.
French Gendarmes and police secure outside the temporary courtroom
The modern courtroom was constructed within the 13th-century Palais de Justice in Paris, where Marie Antoinette and Emile Zola faced trial, among others.
Throughout September, the trial is expected to focus on laying out police and forensic evidence before moving on to the testimonies from victims in October.
From November to December, officials including the former French president Francois Hollande are due to give evidence as will relatives of the attackers.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Hollande said: “I will answer any questions about my decisions during that terrible night. I will answer any questions if they are asked, about what our intelligence was.
Journalists line up to enter the Paris courthouse
“What is the goal of the terrorists? Of course, to try to harm our way of life, and fight the war because we are waging one against them, but what they want the most is to divide us. That is why I am proud of the French because they didn’t divide after November 13th.”
Dominique Kielemoes, whose son bled to death at one of the cafes that night, said the month dedicated to victims’ testimonies at the trial will be crucial to both their own healing and that of the nation.
“The assassins, these terrorists, thought they were firing into the crowd, into a mass of people. But it wasn’t a mass – these were individuals who had a life, who loved, had hopes and expectations, and that we need to talk about at the trial. It’s important,” she said.
France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin said there have been around 50 attacks since President Emmanuel Macron was elected in 2017, out of which 36 have been thwarted by intelligence services.
He added that the threat of terrorism in the country is “particularly high” and where there is “pressure in media and politics focusing on the trial of radical Islamism, clearly the threat is even higher”.
For the first time, victims have been given the option to listen to the trial from home using a secure audio link with a 30-minute delay.
The proceeding will not be televised but will be recorded for archival purposes – which has only been used in a handful of cases in the country that are considered to be of historical value.
Medical aid has been suspended to a city in central Gaza due to an Israeli ground assault there, a charity has said.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said the Israeli military had launched a ground invasion of the city of Deir al Balah this morning.
It added that thousands of displaced people are living in the area, including MAP staff, and the latest orders by Israel “directly endanger vital humanitarian and primary healthcare sites”.
It said the “forced displacement orders do not allow for the transport of lifesaving medical equipment or supplies” and this was “further obstructing efforts to provide emergency assistance”.
Steve Cutts, MAP’s interim CEO, said: “This latest forced displacement order is yet another attack on humanitarian operations and a deliberate attempt to sever the last remaining threads of Gaza’s health and aid system.
“MAP now has to suspend critical services we have been providing to the Palestinian population, including a primary health clinic that serves hundreds of civilians every day. With Israel’s systematic targeting of health and aid workers, no one is safe.
“Not only are we prevented from carrying out our lifesaving work to support Palestinians, we are also unable to protect our own teams.”
Gaza medics said at least three Palestinians were killed and several were wounded in tank shelling that hit three mosques and eight houses, Reuters news agency reported.
Israeli sources said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had previously stayed out of Deir Al Balah because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there, Reuters added.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Humanitarian concerns are growing in Deir al Balah. Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
‘People were simply trying to access food’
The UN food agency has accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid.
The World Food Programme (WFP) condemned the violence that erupted in northern Gaza as Palestinians tried to reach a convoy of trucks carrying food.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 80 people were killed in the incident.
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat” – and questioned the number of those killed as reported by the Palestinians.
The WFP statement said the incident resulted in the loss of “countless lives” – and how the crowd surrounding its convoy “came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire”.
“These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation,” it added.
Earlier, the WFP said that shortly after entering Gaza, a convoy of 25 trucks carrying food aid encountered “massive crowds of hungry civilians” who then came under gunfire.
“WFP reiterates that any violence involving civilians seeking humanitarian aid is completely unacceptable,” it said.
Smoke and flames rise from a residential area in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
UNRWA, the UN refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, said in a social media post it was receiving messages from Gaza warning of starvation, including from its own staff, as food prices have increased 40-fold.
“Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale,” it said.
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Dozens killed at aid sites, says Gaza’s health ministry
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In Khan Younis earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people in a tent, including a man, his wife, and their two children, medics said.
Israel is yet to comment on the incidents.
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Meanwhile, Pope Leo warned against the “indiscriminate use of force” and the “forced mass displacement” of people in Gaza in a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, the Vatican said in a statement.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health officials.
At least 16 people have died after a Bangladesh air force plane crashed into a college campus, according to an official.
The aircraft crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College in Uttara, in the northern area of the capital Dhaka, where students were taking tests or attending regular classes.
The Bangladesh military’s public relations department added that the aircraft was an F-7 BGI, and had taken off at 1.06pm local time before crashing shortly after.
Video shows fire and smoke rising from the crash site, with hundreds looking on.
Pics: Reuters
English language news outlet The Daily Star reported that more than 100 were injured based on data from various hospitals.
Bengali-language daily newspaper Prothom Alo said that most of the injured were students with burn injuries.
Pics: Reuters
Citing the duty officer at the fire service control room, Prothom Alo also reported that the plane had crashed on the roof of the college canteen.
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Rafiqa Taha, a 16-year-old student at the school who was not present at the time of the crash, told the Associated Press that the school has around 2,000 students.
“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” she added. “My God! It’s my school.”
World
30,000 trapped inside Syria’s besieged city despite ceasefire – as humanitarian crisis unfolds
The main road entering the besieged Syrian city of Sweida from the West has changed dramatically over twelve hours.
A bulldozer, parked on the side of the road, has been used to create several berms to form a sand barrier around 25km (16 miles) from the city centre.
Dozens of Syrian security forces were standing in lines in front of the barricades when we arrived, and there were forces further up the road stopping vehicles from going any further.
Syrian security forces at a checkpoint outside the besieged city
The Arab tribal fighters we’d seen fighting furiously inside the city the day before were now all camped alongside the road. Some were sleeping on the back of their pick-ups.
“We’re not giving up,” one shouted to us as we walked towards the checkpoint.
The ceasefire agreement between Druze leaders who’re bunkered down inside the city and the Bedoins – and the tribal fighters who’d flock to join them – has frustrated some.
Some of them, waiting with guns slung over their backs, are itching to return to battle. But for now, tribal leaders have instructed them to hold fire.
Read more: Who are the Druze and who are they fighting in Syria?
Arab tribal fighters have been blocked from entering Sweida by security forces
How long that will last is probably key to Syria’s future and whether it can be a peaceful one.
Khalaf al Modhi, the head of a group of tribes called United Tribes, told the group of fighters: “We are not against the Druze. We are not here to kill the Druze.”
But he spent many minutes castigating the senior Druze cleric inside Sweida whom many of the tribes see as the agitator behind the violent clashes.
Khalaf al Modhi, who is the leader of a tribal group called United Tribes
Hikmat Al Hijiri is head of a Druze faction that is deeply suspicious of the new government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa and is resisting ceding power to Damascus.
The retreat of the Arab tribes from the city centre means the Druze militia under Hijiri’s control are now the ones deciding who goes in or out of the city.
About 30,000 mostly Druze people are thought to be trapped inside the city and surrounding towns, with no electricity, little internet and dwindling supplies of food and water.
Druze civilian Kamal Tarrabey. He said ten of his relatives were killed in the violent clashes
The humanitarian situation is dramatically worsening by the day. But at the time of writing, there were still no agreed safe corridors to bring out those pinned inside.
On top of this, there are nearly 130,000 people displaced and forced out of their homes because of the fighting, according to UN estimates.
Maintaining the ceasefire is key to ensuring solutions are found to help those suffering, and quickly. It’s also the most serious challenge facing the new Syrian leader and his interim government.
The level of distrust between the Hijiri-led Druze faction and the new government is strong and deep. So much so that the Druze leaders have refused to accept truckloads of aid organised by any of the government outlets.
The White Helmets wait outside Sweida as the Druze leaders accept little aid from them due to their government connections
The new Syrian leader has struggled to convince the country’s minorities that their safety under his leadership is assured.
Druze civilians and human rights activists reported mass killings and executions of Druze by government troops who were sent in last week to quell the latest clashes between the Druze and Arab Bedoins who have been at odds for many years.
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Government forces pulled out of the city only after Israel unleashed a spate of airstrikes, saying they were defending the Druze. The bombings killed hundreds of Syrian troops.
But with the withdrawal of the government troops, the Arab Bedoin population said the city’s Druze militia embarked on a string of revenge atrocities.
That in turn led to thousands of tribal fighters massing from around the country to defend their Arab brethren.
Smoke rises from buildings in the city centre of Sweida
When we were inside the city, we saw multiple corpses lying on the streets, and many appeared to have been killed with a shot to the head.
Homes and businesses are still burning after mass pillaging as fighters retreated.
And now, there is a growing humanitarian disaster unfolding.
Additional reporting by camera operator Garwen McLuckie, specialist producer Chris Cunningham, as well as Syrian producers Mahmoud Mossa and Ahmed Rahhal.
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