The African Union on Friday condemned the deadly Madrid train bombings that left 198 people dead, and called for an intensified global fight against terrorism.
”I condemn the terrorist act that took place in Madrid in which so many innocent people lost their lives and hundreds injured,” said the chairperson of the AU Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare.
”Terrorism has no colour, has no face and has no religion. It is our common enemy. We Africans are determined to fight terrorism in all its forms. We have to intensify the fight more than ever,” Konare said during a meeting of representatives of AU member states in Addis Ababa.
”We would like to send our condolences to the people of Spain, the leadership and to the families of the victims,” he added.
Spanish officials blamed the Basque separatist group ETA after the attacks took place on Thursday, but adopted a more cautious approach later saying they were not ruling out the possibility that it may be the work of extremists linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
Konare also sent condolences on behalf of AU to the people of the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros following the almost certain sinking in a cyclone off Madagascar of a ferry carrying 120 people. — Sapa-AFP