Berlin power grid attack caused by ‘extreme leftists’, say officials
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Workers setting up lighting using a power generator during a blackout in the district Steglitz-Zehlendorf, southern Berlin, Germany, on Jan 4.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FRANKFURT – A fire in south-west Berlin that has left tens of thousands in the German capital without electricity was likely the result of a far-left extremist attack, officials said on Jan 4.
Grid company Stromnetz Berlin said on Jan 3 that the suspected arson attack
On Jan 4, it said that efforts to restore power were ongoing, with around 35,000 households and 1,900 commercial entities still affected.
Following the attack, local media published a letter purportedly from a far-left activist organisation called the Volcano Group that claimed responsibility for the incident, saying its actions were directed at the fossil-fuel-based energy industry.
“The letter claiming responsibility has been classified as authentic by the security authorities,” Berlin’s Interior Affairs Minister Iris Spranger said in a post on social media platform X.
“I condemn this inhumane attack on Berliners and visitors to the city in the strongest possible terms. The investigation is ongoing.”
In September, a suspected arson attack on two pylons left around 50,000 households in Berlin without power. Local media said the incident bore similarities to Volcano Group’s high-profile attack on the power supply of Tesla’s gigafactory in Gruenheide in 2024. REUTERS
