France: Premier denounces Islamophobic killing of Muslim man in mosque

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Saturday denounced the killing of a young Muslim man in a mosque as an "Islamophobic atrocity". 

An attacker on Friday stabbed the worshipper dozens of times and filmed him with a phone while shouting anti-Islam insults in the village of La Grand-Combe, in the Gard region of southern France.

The victim is thought to have been in his early 20s. His body was discovered later in the morning when other worshippers arrived at he mosque.

"A worshipper was murdered yesterday," Bayrou said on the social media platform X.

"The Islamophobic atrocity was displayed in a video.

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"We stand with the victim's loved ones, with the believers who are so shocked. State resources are mobilised to ensure the killer is apprehended and punished."

The suspect remains at large, according to the regional prosecutor.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that several people said the victim was a young man from Mali and was "very well-known" in the village.

middleeasteye.net