Kenya has joined other countries to condemn the terror attack in Moscow, Russia.
Kenya Foreign Affairs Minister and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Saturday termed the Crocus City Hall Friday attack as “senseless, barbaric and counter to all fundamental principles of our shared humanity”.
“We convey our deep sympathies to all those affected by this heinous act.
“”My brother and counterpart, H.E. Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, be assured that Kenya strongly and unequivocally condemns this atrocious act and stands with you in mourning the loss of innocent lives,” Mudavadi said in a statement released through social media accounts.
Mudavadi added that acts of terrorism and violent extremism are unjustifiable and inexcusable, as they are an assault on humanity’s collective moral consciousness.
“In these difficult circumstances, Kenya stands in solidarity with the resilient Peoples and Government of Russia and hopes for a quick recovery to all affected by this vile attack,” he said.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei, said Kenya joins the world in mourning all those who had died in the “brutal terrorist attack”.
“We condemn this horrendous and senseless attack on civilians and urge greater international cooperation and coordination in the fight against terrorism. A fragmented and unravelling global order only aids the machinations of perpetrators of terror,” Korir said.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement on Telegram after shooters stormed the venue on Friday night, killing at least 60 people and injuring 145, according to Agencies.
Through the statement by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq, ISIS said it was responsible for the attack even though it didn’t did not provide evidence to the claim.
Videos shared on X, formerly Twitter, showed gunmen shooting indiscriminately, shooting anyone on site in the complex, before entering a music hall, where they shot at people lying under the seats.
“One hundred and forty-five people have been hospitalized, while 60 people are in a “serious condition,” TASS reported.
According to the Kremlin, Putin was informed about the attack and was being kept updated on measures on the ground.
US WARNING
The US. and the UK issued terror alerts to their citizens of the threat of attacks on “large gatherings” in Moscow on March 7.
While the US Embassy in Moscow had warned its citizens that a terrorist attack could occur in Moscow in 48 hours, White House on Friday claimed it had no information about the preparation of the attack.
The Somali government stands in solidarity with the Russian people at this difficult time and rejects all forms of violence and terrorism
Villa Somalia
Somalia and Burundi also condemned the attacks.
Through Villa Somalia, the official X handle for Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s office, Mogadishu
The President expressed his deepest condolences to the victims, their families and all the victims of the shooting, and extended his sympathies to President Vladimir Putin and Russians, Villa Somalia said.
“The Somali government stands in solidarity with the Russian people at this difficult time and rejects all forms of violence and terrorism,” it added.
Somalia has been one of the worst affected states by terrorism, as it battles Al Qaida-linked Al Shabaab terror group.
Burundi has also joined other countries to condemn the attack, with President Evariste Ndayishimiye expressing his condolences to the affected families and wish a speedy recovery to those injured.
“We stand together with the Russian people in these difficult moments,” he said.
China President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also condemned the attacks.
PREVIOUS ATTACKS
Friday attack adds to a series of past terror attacks on Russia, the last major one being in April 2017, when a blast in a subway tunnel in St Petersburg killed 14 people.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the October 31 downing of a Russian passenger plane using a bomb in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.
On December 29-30,2013, suicide bombers killed 34 people in in the city of Volgograd in two separate attacks, two years after the Domodedovo International Airport suicide bombing that killed 37 people and left at least 173 inkured.
In March 2010, another subway attack killed 40 people in Moscow, just months after another hit on a train connecting the capital and St Petersburg, killing 26 in November 2009.
There were also attacks in 2006, 2004 (3), 2005, 2002, 2000 and the worst of them in 1999.
In September 1999, a series of explosions hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, killing more than 300, and leaving more than 1,000 injured.
The bombings, together with the Invasion of Dagestan, triggered the Second Chechen War.
