Bloodshed at Bastille Day Parade

Bloodshed at Bastille Day Parade

July 16, 2016
Policemen walk on the site of the attack. — AFP photo
Policemen walk on the site of the attack. — AFP photo

CUSTODIAN of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman led the world’s condemnation of the terror truck attack on a Bastille Day crowd in the French Riviera city of Nice that killed 84 people.

In his cable of condolence to French President Francois Hollande, the King denounced the “criminal act.”

The King said Saudi Arabia stands firm with France on the rejection of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and the importance of international efforts to confront and eliminate it.

[caption id="attachment_69125" align="alignright" width="300"]The site where a truck drove into a crowd watching a fireworks display on the Promenade des Anglais seafront near the Negresco Hotel in the French Riviera town of Nice, Friday. — AFP photo The site where a truck drove into a crowd watching a fireworks display on the Promenade des Anglais seafront near the Negresco Hotel in the French Riviera town of Nice, Friday. — AFP photo[/caption]Similar cables were also sent to President Hollande by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior; and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense.

Saudi Arabia’s top religious body also condemned the attack.

Other Muslim bodies like the Muslim World League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League also condemned the attack stressing that there was an urgent need for concerted efforts of all international parties to address the current rise in terror attacks by taking more measures of cooperation and strong and effective coordination.

Al-Azhar, Islam’s leading seat of learning, condemned the attack, urging unity to “rid the world” of “terrorism.”

“These vile terrorist attacks contradict Islamic teachings,” the Cairo-based institution said in a statement. “Al-Azhar… affirms the necessity of uniting efforts to defeat terrorism and rid the world of its evil.”

Leading Muslim clerics joined the condemnation.

Tunisia said that the attacker, who police said held joint French-Tunisian citizenship, had committed an act of “extreme cowardice” and expressed solidarity with France against the “scourge of terrorism.”

Prominent Egyptian Muslim cleric Shawki Allam condemned the assailant as an “extremist.”

“People who commit such ugly crimes are corrupt of the earth, and follow in the footsteps of Satan… and are cursed in this life and in the hereafter.”

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said: “This heinous terrorist crime makes it imperative for all to work decisively and without hesitation to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi condemned “in the strongest terms the vile terrorist attack,” his office said.

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit denounced the “craven terrorist attack,” his spokesman said.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and European and Asian leaders meeting for a summit in Mongolia joined in condemnation of what they called a terrorist attack in messages to President Hollande.

European Council President Donald Tusk, speaking in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, captured the global shock when he spoke of the “tragic paradox that the subject of #NiceAttack was the people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Mongolia: “All of us who have come together at the ASEM summit are united in our feeling of disbelief at the attack of mass murder in Nice.”

New British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose country has just upset Paris and other European capitals by voting to leave the European Union, said Britain stood “shoulder to shoulder” with France.

Putin, whose relations with the West have been strained over Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria, went on Russian television to convey his condolences to Hollande after apparently being unable to reach him by telephone.

“Dear Francois, Russia knows what terror is and the threats that it creates for all of us. Our people have more than once encountered similar tragedies and is deeply affected by the incident, sympathizes with the French people, and feels solidarity with them,” he said, adding that Russian citizens were among the victims in Nice.

President Obama condemned what he said appeared to be a “horrific terrorist attack”.

“We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack,” he said in a statement.

“On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: “Canadians are shocked by tonight’s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people.”

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim — whose own country suffered deadly suicide bombings at Istanbul’s airport two weeks ago — condemned the “cowardly terrorist attack that has bloodied Nice on this national celebration day”.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered his “condolences” to the victims and said China opposed all forms of terrorism.

The United Nations Security Council called the attack “barbaric and cowardly”.

Latin American leaders also condemned the carnage, with Brazilian interim president Michel Temer declaring: “Today, more than ever, we are all French.” Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa added that he was sending France “a hug” after “a tragedy caused by insanity”.

The Vatican said in a statement that it “condemned in the strongest possible terms” the bloodshed in Nice.


July 16, 2016
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