US envoy, UN, NATO and OIC condemn deadly Reyhanlı attack

ISTANBUL

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone condemned the Reyhanlı attack. DAILY NEWS photo

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone has condemned the deadly attacks in the southern town of Reyhanlı along the Syrian border that killed at least 43 people while injuring more than 120 May 11, and offered his condolences for the victim’s families. “The United States strongly condemns today's vicious attack, and  stands with the people and Government of Turkey to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” Ricciardone said in a statement. “We mourn the tragic loss of life and pray for a full and speedy recovery for those who were injured,” the statement added.  

UN leader Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned a bomb attack on a Turkish town near the Syrian border that killed more than 40 people, and said the perpetrators must be "brought to justice." Turkey's Interior Minister Muammer Guler said that groups close to President Bashar al-Assad's Damascus government were behind the bombings.
 
"The secretary-general condemns, in the strongest terms, the deadly attack that took place today in the town of Reyhanli," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
 
Ban "condemns all acts of terrorism and reiterates that no cause or grievance ever justifies the targeting of civilians," the spokesman added.
 
"He hopes that the perpetrators will be swiftly identified and brought to justice." At least 41 people were killed and 100 injured when two explosive-laden cars blew up in Reyhanli.
 
Ban sent his "deepest condolences to the victims and their families as well as to the government and people of Turkey," said Nesirky.

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu has also condemned the attacks and reiterated that the organization stood against “all forms of extremism and terrorism.  “Such repeated terrorist activities of extremist and violent phenomena must be collectively addressed in a serious manner,” Ihsanoğlu said in a statement.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also joined the condemnations in a statement published on the organization’s website.    

“These despicable acts show total disregard for the life of civilians. I express full solidarity with the people and the authorities of our Ally Turkey,” Rasmussen said.