A carnival procession was halted in the Lower Saxon city of Brunswick (Braunschweig) on Sunday over terrorism danger.
A hint by an informant has led to the last-minute cancellation of the Brunswick carnival. The police have justified the refusal of the carnival parade with a concrete Islamist terror threat. They got a hint about a possible attack. There was no anonymous advice and no bomb threat. "The information comes from a person we know and which we can assess," said Brunswick Police President Michael Pientka at a press conference.
He stated that an "as yet abstract danger" has become concrete for the first time. A certain place had been stated. The prosecution has initiated proceedings for preparation of serious subversive violence. However, no person has been hunted for yet.
The police denied rumors that bombs were discovered along the parade route. Reported objects have been found to be above suspicion.
The parade is considered the largest carnival event in Northern Germany and was supposed to start at 12:20. At Brunswick Carnival, the so-called Schoduvel, up to 250,000 visitors were expected on Fasching Sunday.
Earlier, the police had announced that state security sources had stated that concrete danger through an Islamist attack would be imminent.
On Rose Monday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend parades, inter alia, in the carnival strongholds of Mainz, Dusseldorf and Cologne. These are to take place.
Security sources stated, after the attacks in Paris in January and now in Copenhagen a vast number of hints as to possible terrorist attacks were received. "The security authorities must investigate every hint and check if it is only air of importance or if they are really serious. This is very difficult - and sometimes it leads to such precautions as in Brunswick."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31477237
