(MENAFN- The Peninsula) France again plunged into grief and fear just eight months after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris. A man ploughed a truck into Bastille Day crowds on Thursday night, killing 84 people. Among the dead were ten children, and of the scores of injured, dozens were in critical condition. The terrorist was of Tunisian origin and the intelligence services are still struggling to determine the motive of the attacker as no organisation has come forward to claim responsibility. As usual, the world, including Arab countries, reacted in horror and offered their condolences and sympathies.
Every attack is adding to our collective fear and proving how difficult and even impossible it is becoming to prevent them. The entry of ‘lone wolves";, whose links with terrorist organisations cannot be established conclusively, is changing the face of terrorism. No security forces on Earth can foresee and stop a deranged terrorist, with no visible links to terror groups, from ploughing his vehicle into crowds. It can be done anywhere and at anytime, and we can";t ban trucks and cars. But at the same time, we can";t sit idle until this world is safe.
Amid the shock and horror of Nice attack, one question has entered many minds – why France again? Why is this country the target of a wave of extremist violence that is more lethal than any other seen in the West? There is no single, convincing answer. Some say it";s because ISIS has a morbid hatred of France as it";s considered the standard bearer of western secular liberalism. Some say it";s due to its crackdown on hijab, or due to the French military interventions in Islamic world like Libya and Mali, or due to the failure of intelligence services or due to the physical and cultural isolation of Muslims in France. But none of these seems convincing enough for targeting a country so frequently with such lethal force. The French intelligence services will have to work hard to unearth the reasons and find solutions to prevent another attack.
While France stands united in defeating terrorism, these attacks will have a dangerous fallout of strengthening the rightwing forces in the country, which are flying high after previous attacks under the disruptive leadership of Marine Le Pen. Extremism of one kind can never defeat extremism of another kind, and will only spawn more hatred, confrontation and attacks. With its substantial Muslim population, the government of President Francois Hollande has a challenge of unimaginable proportions – rooting out terrorism without further alienating the country";s Muslim community. But this is a battle the government and French people must win.