The March on Kiel - a terrorist attack kills 177
The political demise of Thierry de la Rocque has sent the Union of Guilds into extreme instability. The organization is now constantly rocked by division between four factions, each vying for total power. It is no longer in function; it has entirely fallen apart.
The strength of the other trade unions, perhaps most of all the Communist Workers' Front, which, in spite of the tragic death of its leader, Mathilde Comtois, has remained stable, has created a sense of anger within many of the UoG's members. "We were betrayed; what could we have done? And they, they; those who claim to love democracy, ideological diversity; they deserted us, slandering us, and took power over us, ignoring our wants and our needs."
These sentiments, so widely held within the party despite its apparent division, rose ferociously early this morning. A lone figure, early this morning, stood this morning, at about 6:30, in a public square shouting hateful phrases against the current government and its supporters. By 7:15, over three hundred others had joined him. This crowd, the seeming embodiment of the feelings that have overtaken the Union of Guilds, soon became violent, blockading the square and attacking those who attempt to gain access. About thirty were injured. At 9:00 this morning, those participating in the began to march for the capital, leaving behind them a trail of destruction. 63 passerby were attacked, 14 to the point of death, with a number of stores and stalls ransacked; there appear to have been a number of attempts made to set at least eleven apartment buildings ablaze.
As this mob slowly made its way toward the Schloss, where the confederal government is housed, a further ~250 people joined it. The People's Militia was inundated with frantic calls; those who attempted to respond were overwhelmed.
At 9:18, they had arrived. The Confederal Diet was in session, debating devolution for a number of minority groups. It was forced to flee, yet could not do it efficiently. A number of advisors, aides, clerks, and secretaries were themselves already trying to flee from the seemingly murderous mob, filling the narrow hallway that led to the back exit. The addition of the fleeing Diet made matters worse. A total of 124 people were attempting to push through the hallway, only a meter wide; 26 of them were trampled to death.
The mob, paradoxically calm in their desire to destroy, reached them at 9:21. They clubbed and stabbed those at the back of the frenzied stampede, injuring eleven and killing one. At 9:24, those who were fleeing made it through the back door. A Molotov cocktail was thrown into the dispersing crowd; 7 died, with 19 injured. Members of the mob chased down those who were fleeing, an additional six were clubbed or stabbed to death, with eight injured. Members of the People's Militia arrived on the scene at 9:31; the mob, by that time, however, had moved on.
Scattered, the mob continued its violence. The ransacking, arson, and attacks on passerby continued, with a total of 129 dead, in addition to those attacked before 9:30, at the time of publication.
201 arrests of individuals related to the mob have been made; violence continues spasmodically. The city has been entirely shut down; no one can enter or leave.
Violence has not spread elsewhere; measures have been taken by cantonal governments to temporarily control demonstrations as to prevent such an attack from happening again.