Paris Under Terrorist Attack

Paris was hit on Friday night by a string of deadly terrorist attacks, leaving 129 people dead and many more wounded. The attacks began just after 10 p.m. local time in at least seven locations in and around Paris.

President Francois Hollande has declared a state of emergency throughout the French territory and has ordered borders closed to prevent escape of the terrorists.

“We will stand together. We will never bow. We will never break. That’s the character of our two nations,” said Vice President Joe Biden in a statement on the Paris attacks.

UPDATE: Eight terrorists are killed, seven of them suicide bombers. More gunmen might still be at large. Paris is on lockdown. 7,000 troops have been deployed on streets of France. A massive manhunt is underway.

UPDATE: Thousands sing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, during the evacuation of Stade de France, the national stadium north of Paris, after the terrorists attempted to attack the venue during the French-German friendly attended by President Hollande.

Photo: A scene in Paris under terrorist attack; Friday 13 November 2015 (France24)

Unity March in Paris: Largest Gathering in 70 Years

Paris Unity March in honor of Charlie Hebdo victims: A huge show of solidarity against terrorism - 1.5 million people took part in Paris, 3.7 million across France. What a historic day!
The largest gathering in France since 1944 rally to mark the end of German occupation (Vice News.com)

Unity March in Paris

People gather at Place de la Republique before the Unity March in Paris for Charlie Hebdo

Photos: The Telegraph (top) and BBC

3 Kurdish Activists Assassinated in Paris Are Honored

Tens of thousands of people gathered Thursday in the southern city of Diyarbakir to mourn the three Kurdish activists murdered in Paris last week. The funeral was the largest political gathering of Kurds in Turkish history. None of Turkish national television networks carried the funeral. But a few Web portals provided real-time coverage. (The New York Times, 17 January)

The most prominent of the three slain women, Sakine Cansiz, 55, was a founding member of the rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K.

Many in the crowd wore white scarves for peace and black clothing for mourning, as suggested by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, the organizer of the ceremony.

The reason for the killings remains unclear, but they were widely perceived as an effort to derail the talks between the Turkish officials and PKK imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan. The late Ms. Cansiz was his close ally.

The two women found dead with her — Fidan Dogan, who would have turned 31 on Thursday, and Leyla Soylemez, 24 — were Kurdish activists. All three were found dead at Kurdistan Information Office in Paris last Thursday, shot by one or more gunmen with silenced pistols.

Photo credit: Many in the crowd during the funeral ceremony in Diyarbakir wore white scarves for peace and black clothing for mourning. (European Pressphoto Agency/New York Times)