Terrors are targeting citizens

Recently, terror both big and small has been constant in Europe and Arab countries.

The most recent terrorist attack was on April 9th at St. George Church in the Nile Delta town of Tanta in Egypt. At least 27 people were killed and 78 others wounded. A second explosion happened right at the end. A suicide bomber tried to storm St. Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria in Egypt. At least 17 people died, and 48 injured on the scene. IS said in a statement that "it was a martyrdom operation by an IS combatant brother." The Coptic Church has been persecuted for many years in Egypt, where there are many Sunni Muslims. In February 2015, Libya IS even beheaded 21 Coptic Egyptians. IS seems to be changing its strategy from military attacks to civilian attacks.

Many European citizens are currently shocked and horrified by continuous terror. In one of the most peaceful countries, Sweden, a car bomb killed four people and wounded 15. The suspected terrorist in Stockholm has been identified as an Uzbek, and the suspected terrorist bomber in the St. Petersburg subway station in Russia has been identified as Kyrgyz. It raised questions and concerns about the spreading terrorists from Central Asia.

There is no exact statistical data that all Central Asian terrorists have joined IS, but the link with the IS is inevitable. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Islamic extremism has spread to Central Asia and until now, there are many Muslims in the region. Some young people have become fed up with the unstable social system and started to join extremist Muslim groups such as Islamic State (IS). As the number of young men in Islamic extremism grows in Central Asia, so-called "lonely wolves", who are home-grown terrorists, will spread further, say experts.

Nordic countries are usually considered the most peaceful and safe areas in the world. However, some of the Nordic countries, which were the most friendly and have been accepting refugees, are turning into a closed society as they are targeted by the worst terrorist attacks. In Sweden, where the Stockholm truck terror happened, the number of refugees per capita was the highest among European countries, while the population was around 10 million. However, it is challenged whether it will be able to maintain humanitarian national values ​​in this situation where citizens' safety and life are threatened. On the other hand, there are voices saying that we should not give up openness and humanitarianism by surrendering to terrorism. In Stockholm, after the attack, 50,000 civilians gathered for a memorial service and appealed for the continuation of the open policy and to confront terrorism with love, rather than fear.

The recent terror in Europe occurred in large, major cities, in public places where people gathered. The "soft target" terrorism, which maximizes the fear effect of public terrorism, is on the rise. "The IS terrorist attacks on Syria and Iraq was put in a defensive corner. So the number of European terrorist attacks against civilians, will increase,“ experts said. Peace-loving people around world are indignant at the ruthless civilian massacres and terrorism of IS.

By Park Sarah, reporter

Sarah Park  starcity2015@changwon.ac.kr

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