The traditional German carnival season commenced on Thursday, February 27th—with potential terrorist attacks looming over the festivities.
Islamists suspected of belonging to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group have used social media platforms to call for attacks on festivalgoers, including those attending the carnival celebrations in Cologne which usually attract tens of thousands of people.
An ISIS website showed a poster with four targets, two of which are in Cologne, one in Nuremberg, and one in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.
The Cologne police described the security situation to be “more tense than in previous years,” and announced plans to beef up security with an extra 1,500 officers, reinforced by another 300 extra workers from the public order office and 1,200 private security staff.
The police are also setting up barriers to protect against attacks with cars, and will carry out checks for knives.
The predicted threat level coincides with a time of serious security concerns in Germany: migrants have been carrying out attacks almost on a weekly basis. The latest such incident happened two weeks ago when an Afghan failed asylum seeker rammed his car into a crowd in Munich, killing two people and injuring dozens more.
Authorities have since established that the perpetrator had an Islamist motive for the crime.
The crime spree helped propel the anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party to second place in the recent national elections. The centre-right CDU/CSU alliance, which came first, vowed to turn back illegal migrants at Germany’s borders but made an incredible U-turn on its promises right after the elections.
Germany has been on high alert for many years over threats made by Islamist groups, but instead of acting decisively and putting a halt to migration, political leaders keep urging people to accommodate to the situation, and attend the celebrations nonetheless.
Michael Kramp, a member of the Cologne Carnival Committee, said that there is always an abstract risk for carnival events. Herbert Reul, the interior minister for the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia said people should put aside their concerns and “enjoy the festive days.”
Cologne police chief Martin Lotz said there was no indication of a concrete threat but given the numbers of people out partying, it was important for everyone to “keep their eyes and ears open,” and report any suspicious behaviour.
The police have urged people to avoid dressing up in provocative outfits relating to the Ukraine war, conflict in the Middle East, or the recent migrant attacks.
While larger cities are going ahead with their plans to organise the festivities, smaller towns such as Marburg and Kempten have cancelled their events, saying they were unable to finance the significantly increased level of security measures.
