Attack cripples Berlin power supply launched by left-wing group

German officials have confirmed on Thursday that an arson attack that left much of south-eastern Berlin without electricity for days was carried out by left-wing extremists.

A letter of responsibility that was published online following the widespread blackout that began on Tuesday is believed to be authentic, Berlin Interior Minister, Iris Spranger said in the city parliament.

She said the statement was similar to a letter posted following an arson attack in February targeting a Tesla plant outside of Berlin.

Two high-voltage pylons in Berlin’s Johannisthal neighbourhood went up in flames early on Tuesday, leading to major damage on important power lines.

The disruption left some 50,000 households and businesses without power in what the grid operator has described as the longest blackout in the capital in at least 25 years.

Repair work is ongoing as thousands of people were still without power on Thursday.

A letter of responsibility posted on left-wing platform Indymedia and signed by “some anarchists stated that the attack targeted the military-industrial complex” in a science park in Berlin’s Adlershof neighbourhood.

According to the letter, firms and research institutes from the IT, robotics, biotech, aerospace, artificial intelligence, security and arms industry are based in the area.

Spranger said investigators assume that the perpetrators were based in Germany, describing the conduct as highly criminal.

She said the attack was carried out in a very professional manner, after other politicians had previously suggested inside knowledge was necessary for an outage of this scale.

Spranger condemned the attack, accusing the perpetrators of putting human lives at risk.

Investigations to identify those responsible are ongoing, according to the minister.

10,000 without power in Leipzig

Meanwhile to the south of Berlin, up to 10,000 people have no access to electricity in Leipzig after the eastern German city was hit by a power outage on Thursday, according to the local utility.

Unlike in the capital, the blackout in Leipzig affected the centre of the city, with traffic lights down in some areas, a spokesman for the grid operator said.

The utility has ruled out foul play, however, with the spokesman saying the outage was caused by a failure at a substation.

Repair work is ongoing to restore the supply as quickly as possible, he said.