Terrifying Scene: Masked Gunmen Warn Tourists to Avoid British Vacation Island and Threaten Homeowners

THIS is the chilling moment balaclava-clad gunmen threaten tourists and demand they stay away from a beloved Brit getaway destination.

Corsican separatists have issued a terrifying warning telling holidaymakers they won’t be “safe” if they move to the island or consider buying second .

The chilling moment balaclava-clad Corsican separatists threaten tourists from coming to the island Credit: Corse Matin The video came after the gang held a clandestine press conference for only a single local media outlet known as Corse Matin Credit: AFP

Chilling footage showed around a dozen armed members of the Corsican National Liberation Front-Union of Combatants (FLNC-UC) addressing tourists.

Wielding submachine guns and sniper rifles, the hooded combatants said through distorted audio: “Until our national rights are recognised and respected, we have only one message for them: stay at home.

“The Corsican people will never be a vulgar administrative community.”

The gang released the video after holding a clandestine press conference for only a single local media outlet known as Corse Matin.

, a rugged mountainous island in the Mediterranean Sea with a population of around 365,000, is an official region of France and the birthplace of Emperor Napoleon.

Its turquoise seas and picturesque sandy beaches help attract thousands of visitors each year with many choosing to stay.

Corsica has even been home to a row of such as Princess Caroline of Monaco, Russian oligarch , and .

In the last decade, Corsica’s population rose by 32,900 – an average growth of one per cent a year – according to the country’s national statistics office INSEE.

AWJYD9 France, Corsica, crowded beach, high angle view Credit: Alamy Credit: Getty Images/Radius Images

The rising number of people has sparked a boom in the as thousands also chose the island to buy a second home on.

FLNC-UC’s leader warned that anyone buying a holiday home from now on would be considered a threat.

They attacked the flow of 5,000 foreigners, which they say the vast majority are French, of causing “rampant settlement-driven colonisation”.

The masked militant boss said he is being forced to step in to avoid the Corsican population being “wiped out”.

The Corsican National Liberation Front-Union of Combatants, seen in 1998, have held similar press conferences for decades Credit: EPA View of a fire at the old harbor of Bastia, Corsica after a car bomb exploded in an FLNC-UC-linked attack Credit: AFP

The threat came as the separatists continue to fight for greater autonomy for Corsica.

A bill was adopted by the lower house in June which would give Corsica special autonomous status but remain a French administrative region.

At the time Françoise Gatel, the minister of decentralisation, called it “an important step for Corsica and for our democracy”.

But the FLNC-UC separatist group claims the proposed law won’t go far enough in guaranteeing Corsican independence.

France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has now opened a preliminary investigation over the footage.

They are looking if it breaches “criminal conspiracy to prepare acts of ” laws.

The acquisition, possession and transport of weapons, ammunition or weapons elements in relation to a terrorist enterprise is also being considered.

Corsican separatists have been active since the 1970s.

They became known across the Mediterranean in 1976 when they claimed responsibility for 18 attacks – mainly bombings – carried out across one night.