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Council of Europe condemns deadly attacks in France, Tunisia, Kuwait

Xinhua, June 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Council of Europe (CoE) leaders in Strasbourg condemned on Friday the deadly attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait, calling for increased international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

"The news of deadly attacks in Tunisia and France today is absolutely horrifying," CoE Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland declared.

On Friday, a group of attackers stormed an American-owned factory in the French town of Isere, southwest of Lyon, decapitating one person and attempting to blow up the plant. In Tunisia, at least 37 people are dead after gunmen opened fire on a beach resort in the town of Sousse.

"We are unified today in our shock and sorry for the victims," Jagland continued. "Europe and its neighbors will need to work more closely in the future to combat the common threat of terrorism and extremism."

Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said "I am deeply shocked at today's wave of terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait which I condemn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly, in the strongest possible terms."

Later in the day, a suicide bomb exploded at one of the largest Shiite mosques in Kuwait City during Friday prayers. The attack is estimated to have killed at least 25 people, with over 200 wounded.

"Violent extremism and terrorism undermine the very foundations of democratic societies and are completely unacceptable," the PACE president affirmed.

"I also want to send a message of sympathy to the families of the victims and to the injured as well as to the people and the authorities of the three countries," she added.

She called on the 324 members of PACE to "speak out against terrorism, as well as the hate and intolerance that fuels it."

The spokesman for Jagland, contacted by Xinhua, pointed out that the CoE had recently proposed additional measures to criminalize so-called "foreign fighters."

He said the measures are foreseen as an additional protocol to the existing CoE Convention against terrorism, which is open for signature by non-member states. Endit