The technical relief organization reports of attacks on helpers in the flood area. These are said to have been insulted and pelted with objects. The police are investigating the incidents.
Berlin / Koblenz – According to the Technical Relief Agency (THW), helpers in the West German flood areas have been approached during their deployment.
“Unfortunately, there have been isolated attacks against our volunteers in the last few days,” the THW said on Twitter at the weekend. Helpers were verbally abused and garbage thrown at them. The police in Rhineland-Palatinate have not yet received any reports. You check the descriptions for criminally relevant behavior, said a spokesman in Koblenz.
Attackers acted with forged journalist IDs
The vice-president of the THW, Sabine Lackner, had previously described such attacks to the RTL / ntv “Frühstart”. She also explained to the “Zeit Online” news portal: “These are incidents that I have not seen in my time at the technical relief organization in 20 years.”
The employees were not only pelted with the remains of household items, but were also photographed, “which our volunteers and we naturally find threatening in our work”. Some of the attackers acted with forged journalists’ IDs.
The situation worsened on Saturday afternoon. She experienced that “some people drove up in a Sprinter and also spread false information among the local population”. The THW helpers would not have been deterred, but continued to help.
Police want to verify incidents
The Koblenz police were dismayed by the reports. Try to verify the incidents. You have to rely on people who were affected by the attacks to report.
The police in North Rhine-Westphalia are also not aware of any incident in this direction, said a spokesman for the state control center at the weekend. “We have no information on this.”
In the disaster area on the Ahr, the police had already warned of the activities of right-wing extremists and the so-called lateral thinker scene. In the Ahrweiler district, which was particularly badly affected by the flooding, a police-like car with the inscription “Peace Vehicle” was seen. According to the police, the false report was spread from this vehicle on Tuesday that the number of emergency services would be reduced. dpa
