15 April 2014
The South African government has sent condolences to the government and people of Nigeria following a deadly bomb attack at a bus station on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Monday.
More than 70 people were reportedly killed and over 100 injured in the bombing, which took place as commuters were about to board buses and taxis to go to work in the capital. It is believed that Boko Haram, the militant Islamist group that has waged a campaign of violence in Nigeria in recent years, was behind the attack.
The South African government “reiterates its condemnation of all forms and manner of terrorism,” Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesman Clayson Monyela said in a statement on Monday. “South Africa believes that terrorism, in any form and from whichever quarter, cannot be condoned.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, has voiced his shock and sadness after the bomb attack, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns all indiscriminate killings and acts of violent extremism,” his office said in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack, and those responsible for the continuing brutal attacks in the northeast of the country, must be brought to justice.”
Later on Monday, the UN Security Council also strongly condemned the multiple terrorist attacks that Boko Haram had carried out in Nigeria on 13 and 14 April, causing numerous deaths and injuries.
In a statement issued in New York, the council said that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations was criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of its motivation, and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group.
The members of the 15-nation council underlined the need to bring the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorism to justice.
Ban urged all countries, in accordance with their obligations under international law and the relevant UN resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Nigerian authorities in this regard.
Source: SAnews.gov.za
