World leaders condemn Algeria suicide attacks

FRANCE: World leaders reacted with horror to the double suicide bombing in Algiers claimed by Al-Qaeda that killed at least 30 people and wounded 160 Wednesday.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon “strongly condemns the terrorist bombings that occurred today in Algeria,” UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe told a press briefing.

Ban “believes this deplorable incident, the latest in a series of similar attacks in the Maghreb region as a whole, shows the need for concerted international action against terrorism which has the effect of undermining the normal functioning of societies and disrupting the lives of ordinary people,” she added in a statement.

In Washington, both the White House and the State Department condemned the attacks.

“These horrific acts indiscriminately killed members of the security services and civilians alike,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

“The United States condemns the terrorist attacks,” he added.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said US authorities were already working with their Moroccan and Algerian counterparts.

“We stand with them as they try to find out the cause or the impetus for the attacks,” she said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “sorrow and indignation” in a statement released by the Kremlin.

“This criminal act of terrorism once again confirms that terrorism has no ethnic or religious identity and is one of the greatest challenges the entire international community faces today,” he added.

In the Middle East, the secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Mussa, condemned the attacks.

The monarchies of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar also denounced the attacks in separate statements.

In Brussels, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said: “I condemn with the strongest force the bloody attacks perpetrated today in Algiers which caused a high number of casualties.

“These were odious and cowardly acts,” he added, offering his condolences to the families of the victims.

French President Jacques Chirac condemned what he called the “terrible attacks” in a message of solidarity to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Algeria was until 1962 a French colony.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in a telegram to Bouteflika that he “was profoundly moved by the terrible news of the tragic terrorist attacks perpetrated today in Algiers.”

He added: “I want to express in my name and in the name of the government of Spain my most profound solidarity and my strong condemnation.”

“Canada strongly condemns the senseless, brutal bombings that targeted the Prime Minister’s office and a police station in Algiers today. There can be no justification for these criminal acts,” Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement.

Paris, Thursday, AFP