Nine suspected members of the National Liberation Front of Corsica have been arrested in raids in Porto-Vecchio this morning.
Over 50 armed police officers took part in the operation aimed at the militant organisation which has been blamed for an upsurge in bomb attacks across the island in recent months. Those arrested included a woman with previous convictions for separatist violence. In 2006 she was charged with membership of the FLNC-UC splinter group. (It has since rejoined the mainstream FLNC). Also found in the raids were two handguns and a quantity of ammunition. It is also understood that a number of those arrested were picked up in mainland France as well as the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. A number of the individuals are wanted in connection with the shooting of a man at a nightclub in Porto-Vecchio in October of last year. The man was hit seven times after gunmen fired up to fifteen shots at him outside Club-80 in the centre of the town, the nightclub had previously been firebombed. The individual, named locally as Mickael Minichetti, had previously been shot twice by gunmen in 2005. The FLNC were suspected of firing two shotgun rounds through his car window. He survived after he managed to drive himself to hospital.
In a seperate incident, a carbomb exploded in the hamlet of Praoli in the Aregno Balagna region. There were no injuries in the incident. It appears the target of the attack was a housing maintenance company. A vehicle belonging to the company was completely destroyed and nearby buildings were damaged. An investigation is underway.
On Monday night a bank was bombed in L'lle Rousse. A small explosion badly damaged the building and caused serious damage to four adjoining offices as debris was found over one hundred metres away. The bomb was detonated around 1am and there were no injuries. The police are also investigation this incident.
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