A left-wing arson attack on Berlin’s energy infrastructure plunged tens of thousands of households into darkness. “Tens of thousands of Berliners have been without electricity for four days,” German weekly Der Spiegel reports on Tuesday.
The power outage hit the city on Saturday after a climate activist group set fire to high-voltage power lines. “On the morning of January 3, a fire broke out on a cable bridge over the Teltow Canal, destroying vital utility lines,” the magazine added. “The fire caused a power outage in southwest Berlin, affecting more than 45,000 households at its peak. The blackout also impacted care facilities for the elderly and sick.”
The attack comes as Germany faces an especially cold winter. “Germany has been gripped by a spell of wintry weather,” the German news website The Local noted on Monday. “As the cold snap shows no sign of abating soon, residents should prepare for several more days of challenging conditions.”
Berlin authorities dispatched 450 additional police officers as German newspaper Bild reported burglar alarms going off across the capital.
The leftist climate group Vulkangruppe is reportedly behind the sabotage. According to the German domestic spying agency, which goes by the acronym BfV, the group “belongs to the violent, anarchist wing of the left-wing extremist scene,” Germany’s ARD broadcaster reported.
The climate extremist group has “repeatedly carried out arson attacks on critical public infrastructure, mainly in Berlin and Brandenburg, since 2011.” Their “attacks frequently resulted in electricity and telecommunications outages, as well as disruptions to public transportation,” the public broadcaster added.
The German state TV Deutsche Welle reported on Monday:
Thousands of residents in southwest Berlin are still without electricity and heating amid freezing temperatures after a weekend attack on a cable bridge caused a power outage.Some 14,000 of the some 45,000 households initially affected have had their power restored, but provider Stromnetz Berlin said it might take until Thursday for complete coverage to return.Some schools and kindergartens in the area remained closed on what is the first school day after the Christmas holidays.Hospitals used emergency generators to be able to continue operations and have since seen their power restored, but many care homes remain affected.Aid organizations and the fire brigade have set up shelters for those in need.Some 2,200 businesses were also hit, of which some 500 are back on the grid.A left-wing group that calls itself the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) said in the letter that the aim of the attack was to target the fossil fuel industry.It said the attack “resulted in power outages in the more affluent districts of Wannsee, Zehlendorf and Nikolassee.”
The Vulkangruppe, with a track record of similar actions, carried out the attack against the use of fossil fuels, a pamphlet released by the group said.
British newspaper The Guardian published excerpts from the group’s pamphlet.
As state security authorities opened an investigation into the cause of the blaze near the Lichterfelde heat and power station that damaged several high-voltage cables, the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) said it had deliberately targeted some of the city’s wealthiest districts.In a 2,500-word pamphlet seen by the Guardian which a police spokesperson called “credible”, the group said it had aimed to “cut the juice to the ruling class”.It condemned a “greed for energy” produced by high-emission fossil fuels, calling the attack “action in the public interest” and an “act of self-defence and international solidarity with all those who protect the earth and life”.In the message, which included details about the fire, Vulkangruppe said that datacentres used for AI were exacerbating the problem of climate-damaging energy consumption while creating dangers to society.
Germany’s climate change activism, which began with blockading roads and damaging museum pieces, has now moved on to acts of terror. “German federal prosecutors on Tuesday launched an investigation on terrorism charges into an arson attack on high-voltage cables that caused a power blackout,” Euronews confirmed.
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