A day of celebration in France has turned the entire world into a mourning mode as a lone terrorist identified as a 31-year old French-Tunisian drove truck into crowds of people celebrating France’s Bastille Day (national day) in Nice, killing at least 84 people including 10 children and injuring well over 200 with 50 in critical conditions. He was said to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God the great) before being shot dead by police, local newspaper Nice-Martin reported.
President François Hollande addressed the nation and revealed that many of the 80 people killed were children. At least 18 are in a critical condition. He announced thousands of troops and police would be mobilized in the wake of the horror attack and the country’s state of emergency would be extended by three months. It was due to end on July 26.
“This is a monstrosity to use a truck to deliberately kill people, many people, who only came out to celebrate their national day,” Hollande said. “France is in tears, she is hurting but she is strong. She will be stronger.”
Vehicle attacks have been used by isolated members of militant groups in recent years, notably in Israel, as well as in Europe, though never to such devastating effect.
European Council president Donald Tusk expressed consternation that France was attacked on its national day and said the world stands united with the French people. “It is a tragic paradox that the victims of the attack people celebrating liberty, quality and fraternity. We will stand united with the families of victims, the French people and the government in the fight against violence and hatred,” Tusk said at a meeting of Asian and European leaders in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.
President Barack Obama condemned what he said “appears to be a horrific terrorist attack” in Nice. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and other loved-ones of those killed.” Noting that the attack occurred on Bastille Day, Obama praised “the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world.”
Both presidential candidates also condemned the attacks, with Republican Donald Trump declaring “this is war” and Democrat Hillary Clinton vowing “we will not be intimidated.
Clinton said that “every American stands in strong solidarity with the people of France, and we say with one voice: We will not be intimidated. We will never allow terrorists to undermine the egalitarian and democratic values that underpin our very way of life.”
Trump, who postponed plans to announce his vice presidential pick because of the attacks, said “this is war. If you look at it, this is war coming from all different parts. And frankly it’s war and we’re dealing with people without uniforms.”
Premier Li Keqiang of China said “we strongly condemn terrorism of all forms. We express our condolences to the victims and we will fight all kinds of terrorism.”
Nice, a city of some 350,000, has a history as a flamboyant, aristocratic resort but is also a gritty metropolis. It has seen dozens of its Muslim residents travel to Syria to fight, a path taken by previous Islamic State attackers in Europe.
“Neither the place nor the date are coincidental,” a former French intelligence agent and security consultant, Claude Moniquet, told France-Info, noting the jihadist presence in Nice and the fact that July 14 marks France’s revolution.
Islamic State militants killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, 32 killed in Brussels airport attack, 49 in Orlando, 44 in Istanbul, 27 in Bangladesh and countless in Nigeria, Iraq, Syria and several other places. These spate of senseless killings by Islamic terrorists must end, its already way too much!
