America News Agency

As state security officials investigate the cause of the fire that broke out near the Lichterfelde heating and power plant and damaged numerous high-voltage cables, Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) said it had deliberately targeted some of the city’s wealthiest districts.

The electricity distribution company Stromnetz Berlin had earlier announced that the fire, which broke out on Saturday morning on a bridge over the Teltow Canal in the southwest of the capital, could leave 35,000 homes and 1,900 businesses without electricity and, in many cases, heating until January 8.

In a 2,500-word pamphlet seen by the Guardian and described as “credible” by a police spokesperson, the group said it aimed to “cut off the energy of the ruling class.”

Condemning the “energy greed” produced by high-emission fossil fuels, the group described the attack as “an act in the public interest” and “an act of international solidarity and self-defense with everyone who protects the world and life.”

In a message that also included details about the fire, Vulkangruppe said that data centers used for artificial intelligence further worsen the problem of climate-damaging energy consumption and pose dangers to society.

The group said: “We ourselves contribute to our own surveillance, and it is comprehensive. Technology companies are in the hands of people who hold the power we give them. One day, while dying of thirst and hunger, we will sit in front of bright screens or dead machines.”