http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30738653
Charlie Hebdo attack: Manhunt for gunmen enters third day
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A huge manhunt for the two suspected gunmen in Wednesday's deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine has entered its third day.
French police are concentrating their search in a rural area
of Picardy north-east of Paris where the two men reportedly robbed a
petrol station.
For a second night, vigils were held in Paris for the 12 victims of the attack.
In Washington, President Barack Obama signed a book of condolence at the French embassy.
"We go forward together knowing that terror is no match for
freedom and ideals we stand for," he wrote, adding: "Vive la France!"
On Friday the Council of Paris is due to hold an
extraordinary meeting in which Charlie Hebdo will be made an honorary
citizen of the city.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said it was a rare honour.
"It's also to give strength, to comfort, and to say that
these values which were represented by Charlie Hebdo are an integral
part of our values," she said.
The attackers are believed to be militant Islamists angered by the
satirical magazine's irreverent depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Eight journalists, two police officers, a caretaker and a
visitor died when two masked men armed with assault rifles burst into
the Paris offices. Eleven people were wounded, four of them critically.
Police named the suspects as brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, born in Paris of Algerian parents.
French police released photos of the Kouachi brothers - Cherif (L) and Said (R
President Obama visited the French embassy in Washington, signing a book of condolence and meeting ambassador Gerard Araud
"Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") has become a popular slogan at rallies like this one in Guatemala City
Two men answering their description robbed a petrol station in
Villers-Cotterets, about 80km (50 miles) north-east of Paris on Thursday
and the station manager said they were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs
and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
They were last seen driving a Renault Clio car, believed to be the same vehicle they had hijacked in Paris after the attack.
Few details emerged of the search overnight but late on
Thursday hundreds of police supported by helicopters were scouring
wooded areas in and around the villages of Longpont and Corcy and the
town of Villers-Cotterets.
Longpont was sealed off and every house there searched.
Journalist Guillaume Debre told the BBC's Newsday programme
that police believe the two suspects had ditched their car and were on
foot.
"The big fear for the police is that the two suspects would
be able to reach the border with Belgium and would escape the country,"
he said.
Friday prayers
President Francois Hollande has appealed for tolerance and
unity amid fears that underlying social tensions could be worsened by
the attacks.
In an unusual move, he invited the leader of the far-right
National Front, Marine Le Pen; far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and
centrist Francois Bayrou to the Elysee Palace on Friday for talks.
With Friday prayers due to be held at mosques across France, Muslim
bodies have called on imams to "condemn the violence and the terrorism
with maximum firmness".
On Thursday it emerged that the Kouachi brothers were both on
the US no-fly list, meaning they were barred from flying into the US.
A senior US official told AFP news agency that one of the
brothers was believed to have trained in Yemen with al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
At least nine people connected to the Kouachi brothers have
been detained in the towns of Reims and Charleville-Mezieres, as well as
in the Paris area, officials said.
On Thursday, France marked a national day of mourning for the 12 people killed.
A minute's silence was held in public spaces and 20 imams
joined hundreds gathered outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo to express
sympathy for the victims.
Later, the lights on the Eiffel Tower were turned off.
Several thousand people gathered in the Place de la
Republique in Paris for a second night, lighting candles and waving
signs that read "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie").
The lawyer for Charlie Hebdo, Richard Malka, has said that next week's edition of the magazine will go ahead on Wednesday and would have a print run of one million, instead of the normal 60,000 copies.
Politicians and journalists across the globe have widely
condemned the shooting as an attack on freedom of speech and the press
Charlie Hebdo attack sequence
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