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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Terror strikes Manchester

By our correspondents
May 24, 2017

Late night on Monday, the UK was struck by the worst terrorist attack since the 7/7 bombings of 2005. The suicide attack took place in Manchester in the foyer of a large space being used for an Ariana Grande concert being attended by about 21,000 people.  The police say 22 people were killed while 59 are said to have been injured. Ariana Grande’s music appeals to teenagers and younger audiences and the dead are said to include children. The attacker has been named as Salman Abedi, a 23-year-old British-born son of Libyan refugees. The British authorities are still investigating whether he acted alone or was part of a wider network, although in a statement released on social media Isis has claimed responsibility. Isis’ claims are no longer taken seriously by international security experts, but the terrorist organisation could easily have inspired this attack. We are once again confronted with the reality of a new breed of terrorism that may not even have close ties or coordination with any organisation.

When the war against terrorism started, the aim in Western countries was to bust so-called ‘sleeper cells’ that awaited orders from a central command structure. In the last decade and a half, these command structures and sleeper cells have been targeted and, arguably, decimated within the West. However, the fallout of the wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan and their adjacent legacy of Islamophobia have produced a new kind of terrorist who acts on his own. Amidst the solemn messages of condemnation and solidarity, the British government will now chart out a new security paradigm. One would hope it does not repeat the mistakes of the old one, through which communities have been alienated by the lack of accountability and perceived profiling that has crept into state apparatuses. It was refreshing to note that there was little immediate blame-the-refugee discourse, as happened after the Westminster attack, but we might be speaking too soon. The UK remained in panic through Tuesday as both a train station and a shopping mall in Manchester were also evacuated due to security threats. The rising tide of terrorism in Europe is causing panic – and giving rise to far-right responses. The temptation to succumb to militarism and narrow patriotism must be resisted by all. It is the grief of the families of those who died in the attack and those who are still missing that we must learn to express genuine solidarity with. The divided world we have created will continue to take lives – be they in Manchester, Paris, Kabul or Lahore. The response to these terrorism attacks can only be a message of hope and resilience.