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Rome, 10th August 2004 - Security in Italy's art cities, including Venice,
Florence and Rome, will be tightened over the coming holiday weekend after
a stream of threats from militants, officials said on Tuesday.
The
Italian interior ministry sent a letter to security chiefs around the
country on Monday urging them to be on maximum alert for the Assumption
holiday on Sunday - the deadline set by militants for Italy to pull its
forces out of Iraq or face attacks.
"This particular historic
moment has imposed the need for preventive measures even in Florence, a
city of art," the police headquarters in the Tuscan capital said in a
statement.
"We have decided to intensify security at the main
monuments and the most-frequented piazzas," it said - steps that are being
matched in historic cities across Italy. A militant group claiming links
to Al Qaeda sent a statement to a London-based newspaper on August 1
giving Italy 15 days to withdraw its 2,700 troops from Iraq - the
third-largest foreign force there.
"Our cells in Rome and in all
other Italian cities are prepared and ready to carry out their mission
after the end of the truce on the 15th of this month," the group Abu Hafs
al-Masri Brigades said in a later statement.
"You won't feel safe
in your homes." On Tuesday, the same group claimed responsibility for bomb
attacks that rocked two hotels and a gas depot in Istanbul and reiterated
its threats against Italy.
"Those living in Europe, in Istanbul
and Rome, and other countries which follow the despicable American
policies, we will not let them be at peace as long as the people of Iraq
and Palestine do not enjoy safety," it said in a statement.
An
unknown Kurdish group said it carried out the Istanbul bomb attacks in
retaliation for recent Turkish army operations against Kurdish guerrillas
in eastern Turkey.
Protecting Sensitive
Sites
The interior
ministry has called the string of threats against Italy a "vast media
campaign" by the militants but said it was maintaining the high security
alertfirst set on July 21 and has called for extra measures this weekend.
The ministry has singled out more than 13,000 sensitive sites
since 9/11 on the United States and deployed some 4,000 soldiers to help
protect them. Efforts were stepped up after the March 11 train attacks in
Madrid.
Instead of taking a break as millions of Italians do every
year for the cherished mid-August holiday, police, troops and intelligence
agents will step up their activities on Saturday and Sunday.
Security precautions have already been taken at the Vatican city
state in the heart of Rome, where 24-hour metal detectors and a heavy
police presence have created long queues at St. Peter's Basilica and the
Vatican Museums.
Pope John Paul himself will be in France for the
holiday, visiting the pilgrimage shrine of Lourdes. Tourist hot spots such
as St. Mark's Square in Venice and Rome's Colosseum will be under close
surveillance, along with strategic sites like airports, railway stations
and power plants.
Security experts say Italian interests abroad,
especially those in Iraq, could be more vulnerable targets. "Foreign sites
are more approachable. Some lost embassy somewhere or a cruise ship could
be easier to attack," said Alessandro Politi, an independent Italian
defence analyst.
Nineteen Italians were killed in Iraq last year
when a suicide bomber attacked a paramilitary police base in the southern city
of Nassiriya. |
