Teen ‘stabbed 50 times’ then burned alive in France – Newspaper

MARSEILLE: The southern French city of Marseille was rocked this week by two apparently drug-related murders, including the slaying of a 15-year-old boy who was “stabbed 50 times” and burned alive, prosecutors said Sunday.

Marseille, France’s second largest city but also one of the poorest, is plagued by drug-related violence.

The historic port city on the Mediterranean coast has witnessed a turf war in recent years for control of the highly profitable drug market between several clans, including DZ Mafia and Yoda.

The problem was brought back to public attention this week, when Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone told a press conference on Sunday that victims and perpetrators of such violence were getting younger. The 15-year-old teenager was murdered on Wednesday in a case that Bessone described as one of “unprecedented cruelty”.

On Friday, a 36-year-old footballer, Nessim Ramdane, was shot dead “in cold blood” by a 14-year-old in a case linked to Wednesday’s murder. The two latest cases mean the number of drug-related murders in Marseille has risen to 17 since the start of the year.

Marseille’s drug lords have recruited foot soldiers with social media advertisements, “outsourcing” street dealing to young people, known as “job fairs”. Bessone said on Sunday that young boys are now responding to advertisements not only to sell cannabis resin but also to kill “without any remorse or reflection”.

The teenager had been hired through social networks by a 23-year-old prisoner to intimidate a competitor by setting his door on fire, the prosecutor said, adding that the boy had been promised 2,000 euros. The inmate at Luynes prison south of Aix-en-Provence had described himself as a member of the DZ mafia.

Published in Dawn, October 7, 2024