Here’s an expanded, AP-style news report based on the provided wire copy, suitable for Archyde.com:
Sabotage Suspected in Basel Train Station power Outage; Radical Left Group Claims Duty
BASEL, Switzerland (Archyde.com) — A power outage that disrupted operations at the Badischer Bahnhof in Basel on April 9 was the result of sabotage,according to Deutsche Bahn,the German national railway company. A radical left-wing group has claimed responsibility for the incident,citing opposition to capitalism and cross-border transportation.
The previously unexplained outage, which paralyzed parts of the station, was caused by deliberately set fires that damaged critical cables within the rail infrastructure, a Deutsche Bahn spokesman told Blick, a Swiss news outlet. Repairs took approximately 24 hours to complete, causing significant delays and disruptions to rail traffic.
In a letter of confession published on the left-wing online portal “Barrikade,” a group identifying itself as radical leftists claimed responsibility for the attack. The group stated that Basel is a “central logistical hub” for the movement of goods and people underpinning the capitalist system. The letter further asserted that the sabotage was specifically targeting cross-border rail transport.
“Our attack is directed specifically against cross -border rail transport for goods and people,” the group wrote.
Beyond the general critique of capitalism, the group’s manifesto also condemned the transportation of war materials, raw materials shipped in containers, the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and what they termed the “border and migration regime.” The group also criticized the environmental impact of rail transport, arguing that despite being touted as a green choice, it contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and relies on the extraction of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements, leading to the destruction of ecosystems.
The Basel-Stadt public prosecutor’s office, which is responsible for investigating the incident, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing the ongoing examination.
This is not the first time that sabotage has been suspected on railway networks in Europe.Last summer, authorities investigated a similar incident targeting the French high-speed train network on the day of the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris. At that time, terrorism expert Peter Neumann told 20 Minuten that left-wing extremists were suspected, who viewed high-speed trains as a symbol of capitalism.
