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Regional Condemnation for Fatal Egypt Church Attack
The Arab world condemned a devastating bomb attack outside a church in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria that left 22 dead on Saturday.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) condemned ‘the criminal and terrorist act which targeted civilians who were performing their religious rituals’.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the OIC, expressed his condolences to Egyptians and the families of the victims and urged them ‘to disassociate themselves from attempts to instigate sedition or spread division among the people which some want to implant among them.’
The devastating blast also left 79 injured, the Ministry of Health said. The explosion took place around 20 minutes after midnight outside the Church of the Saints, targeting Coptic Christians who were attending a New Year’s Eve mass.
‘The United Arab Emirates denounces that despicable act that led to the killing and injuring of several innocent citizens of Egypt. The UAE rejects terrorism in all its forms and totally condemns targeting of places of worship,’ Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said.
‘Such terrorist acts are yet another evidence that concerted international efforts are needed to confront and combat terrorism, no matter where it comes from or what its motifs are,’ he added.
Both Qatar and Kuwait condemned the attack and send their condolences to the families of the victims and Egypt.
Saudi Arabia expressed its condolences for the victims, wished a speedy recovery for the injured and condemned the ‘criminal act which is neither acceptable by Islam nor by global ethics.’
An official Syrian source told the German Press Agency dpa that his country condemns such ‘terrorist crimes, which targets national unity and religious pluralism in neighbouring Egypt as well as other Arab countries.
‘Syria will stand by Egypt in confronting and combating terrorism, and all that harms Egypt’s national unity,’ the source added.
The Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa called on ‘Copts and Muslims, to join their efforts in order to be able to face the dangers that aim at undermining Egypt’s security and stability,’ adding that this is the only way to confront those ‘evil attempts.’
Al-Azhar, the country’s highest Islamic authority, condemned the attack, saying it ‘could not be carried by Egyptians.’
‘It is a foreign crime implemented on Egyptian land,’ head of Al- Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb told state TV.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition group, condemned the ‘suspicious’ blast, which ‘targets the sanctity and security of the country.’
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