LONDON: A 3-year-old boy suffered severe burns on his face and arm during a suspected acid attack in England that investigators think was deliberate, police said Sunday.
West Mercia police Chief Superintendent Mark Travis said police were working to identify the substance that burned the child Saturday at a discount store in Worcester.
A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Three others were being sought for questioning and police released photos to generate public tips.
“At this time we are treating this as a deliberate attack,” Travis said in a statement. “The incident will rightly shock the local community, and I would like to reassure local people that we are carrying out a thorough investigation.”
British police have reported seeing an increase in acid attacks during the last year, but it is very rare for a victim to be so young. Some attacks are related to gang fights or late-night bar confrontations.
Most of the attacks have happened in London, but they have been reported in many parts of Britain. A London teenager was given a prison sentence of more than 10 years this year after being convicted of spraying acid into the faces of moped drivers so he could steal their mopeds.
Police also report that innocuous liquids sometimes are thrown into the face of mugging targets to make them think they have been hit with a corrosive substance, panic and give up their valuables more easily.
Robin Walker, the Worcester representative in Parliament, said lawmakers are considering allowing tougher sentences for people convicted of any type of intentional assault with acid.
He described what happened to the 3-year-old boy as “horrific.”
A police statement late Sunday afternoon said the boy had been discharged from the hospital. He has not been identified.
UK police think boy, 3, was attacked with acid at store
UK police think boy, 3, was attacked with acid at store
- Police also report that innocuous liquids sometimes are thrown into the face of mugging targets to make them think they have been hit with a corrosive substance, panic and give up their valuables more easily
- Most of the attacks have happened in London, but they have been reported in many parts of Britain
M23 rebel spokesperson killed in Congo army drone strike, officials say
- M23 controls large swathes of North and South Kivu provinces
- The attack happened near Rubaya, in North Kivu
DAKAR: The military spokesperson for the M23 rebel group, Willy Ngoma, was killed in an army drone strike in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, a regional diplomat, a senior rebel official and a Western adviser to the government said.
The killing comes as Qatar-mediated ceasefire efforts continue, with Kinshasa and M23 having signed agreements in Doha to establish a joint ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism involving Qatar, the United States and the African Union as observers.
M23, which the United Nations says is backed by Rwanda, controls large swathes of North and South Kivu provinces after a rapid offensive last year in which the rebels seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu.
The attack happened near Rubaya, in North Kivu, at around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), and came after several days of sustained drone attacks on the area by the Congolese army, the senior M23 official told Reuters.
Rubaya is a strategic coltan-mining hub that produces around 15 percent of the world’s supply, making it a key financial stronghold for the M23 rebels. A spokesperson for the Congolese presidency declined to comment and a spokesperson for Congo’s army did not immediately respond.
