Ghanaians living in France have indicated that they are safe in the wake of recent terrorist attacks which led to the death of a police officer and injuries to several others.
Telecoms management consultant Joshua Odotei, who lives in Paris, said on Friday April 21 that the lives of Ghanaians resident in Paris and other French cities are not under threat even though they encounter occasional violence in the city of love.
He told Class FM’s Dr Etse Sikanku on World Affairs: “In terms of threats, France is a country where people from all backgrounds really do feel at home. Nonetheless, if you live in a foreign country, once in a while there are issues of racism and injustice here and there but in terms of life threats, no!
“Even in areas where it is believed that there are rascals or people who don’t abide by law and all that, you can live at those places without any issues. So I will not say there is that kind of threat [on Ghanaians].”
A 39-year-old terrorist killed a police officer and wounded two others before being shot dead. Local media reports say he had been seen as a potential Islamist radical.
A pump-action shotgun and knives were found in his car, the French TV station BFMTV reported.
The BBC reports that Paris prosecutor François Molins said shortly after the shootings that “the attacker’s identity is known and has been verified”.
The attack at the Champs Elysees took place as 11 candidates in Sunday’s closely fought presidential election were engaged in a final joint TV appearance to argue their policies.
France has come under several terrorist attacks in recent times. The country has recorded four attacks in 2017. On March 18, 2017, a policeman was shot and injured in the Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse by an attacker who was later shot dead at Orly Airport near Paris after trying to grab a soldier’s firearm.
Again on March 16, a letter bomb exploded at the French office of the IMF injuring one person. A soldier near the Louvre museum opened fire on a man who attempted to enter the museum with a machete. The man was shouting “Allahu Akbar” and injured the soldier’s scalp in the attack on February 3, 2017.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
