bdmetronews Desk ॥ Attacks on two mosques in New Zealand which left at least 49 people dead on Friday — the Muslim day of prayer — have sparked horror, revulsion and dismay around the world.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the massacre in the city of Christchurch was clearly a “terrorist attack” and described it as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
Here is a summary of global reactions.
– ‘Horrible massacre’ –
“My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the mosques,” US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter as his spokeswoman denounced it as a “vicious act of hate”.
– Muslims face ‘mass killing’ –
“With this attack, hostility towards Islam that the world has been idly watching and even encouraging for some time, has gone beyond the boundaries of individual harassment to reach the level of mass killing,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“If measures are not taken right away, news of other disasters will follow this one.”
– ‘Depraved and despicable’ –
“Murder of people at prayer, in their most holy and sacred place, is a depraved and despicable act. For people of all religions and of none, a red line has been crossed,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin wrote on Twitter.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel “mourns the wanton murder of innocent worshippers in Christchurch and condemns the brazen act of terror.”
And Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas described it as a “horrific and heinous criminal act”, the official WAFA news agency said.
– ‘Painful memories’ –
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg urged the international community to combat all forms of extremism, saying the Christchurch attacks revived painful memories of the 2011 mass killings by rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik.
“It recalls painful memories of our own experience with July 22, the most difficult moment in the post-war period in Norway.”
