German military base reopened after suspected sabotage – DW – 08/14/2024
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Officials believe the tap water at the base in western Germany — which employs thousands of people — may have been purposely contaminated. Security levels were then raised at a NATO air base in western Germany as well.

Cologne-Wahn military base has been sealed off after a suspected act of sabotage against its water supply, news outlets reported Wednesday.

The base near Cologne-Bonn airport employs 4,300 soldiers and 1,200 civilians and is also home to a fleet of military aircraft used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz for international travel.

According to news magazine Der Spiegel, authorities told employees at the base not to drink the tap water, as they believed it had been contiminated. They also found damage to a fence at the edge of the property.

Police, military police, and the military intelligence agency MAD are all looking into the alleged crime, Spiegel said.

Police cordoned off a large area and it was no longer permitted to enter or leave the barracks.

“We have our reasons for taking this action, and we take the case seriously,” a spokesperson for the Territorial Command in Berlin was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.