More than 120 people were injured among police, Carabinieri, and Guardia di Finanza the day after the No Tav attacks in Val di Susa on the construction sites of the future Turin-Lyon freight and passenger railway line: 58 police officers, 48 Carabinieri, and 18 financial police.

Four vehicles were also damaged: two Carabinieri vehicles, one Finance Police vehicle, and a police car.

To date, police have identified 436 people who participated in the clashes, some of whom are from France, Germany, and Belgium. Their whereabouts are now being examined by investigators from both an administrative and criminal standpoint. Additionally, various pyrotechnic and explosive materials, Molotov cocktails, gas masks, homemade explosives, helmets, and balaclavas have been seized.

Turin's police commissioner, Massimo Gambino, speaks of " an escalation of warfare and violence . They want to turn the Susa Valley into a European laboratory for urban guerrilla warfare, and we won't allow it," he says. "We will take the utmost action, and investigations are underway to stop them."

THE DAMAGE – Meanwhile, the counting of the damage at the construction sites has begun, and " an initial estimate of the damage at the Chiomonte site alone is approximately €1 million . The timeframe for debris removal and the restoration of workspaces and services in the tunnel is still being assessed," says Telt, the binational company carrying out the work. And things didn't get any worse because "there were also some acetylene cylinders that exploded, fortunately after everyone had managed to get away. About ten workers were present at the time of the attack, and they were immediately evacuated and taken to safety."

The damage in Salbertrand, Susa (Traduerivi hamlet) and San Didero has yet to be quantified, while the No Tav movement, via the web, is talking about last Saturday as "a great day of struggle for the Susa Valley.

REACTIONS – Meanwhile, condemnation of the protesters' actions and solidarity with the police continue. "It's just violence. My sympathy and thanks to the men and women in uniform," said Minister for Institutional Reforms Elisabetta Casellati. "A true terrorist attack against the police force, which has once again suffered dozens of injuries," said Maurizio Gasparri, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "We're talking about people who follow the logic of subversion and have a terrorist-like behavior pattern," said Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo. "Our full solidarity and gratitude go to all the injured officers," said Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. "Demonstrating is a right; destroying construction sites, attacking men and women in uniform, and endangering public safety is a crime."

"Terrorism," according to Senate President Ignazio La Russa, "has been defeated, but violence has not: violence feeds on cover-ups," and "if extremist fringes believe they are not isolated, then they act." Cardinal Roberto Repole, Bishop of Susa and Archbishop of Turin, joined the condemnatory voices: "These guerrilla actions deserve no effort to understand; they are pure terrorist violence, which I wish to firmly condemn as a Christian and as a citizen. Violence is incompatible with the Gospel and democracy; it must be isolated and punished."

(Unioneonline)

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