Turkey condemns Boko Haram massacre

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

A file photo taken on April 21, 2013 shows children walking outside a charred house in the remote northeastern town of Baga, Borno State, after two days of clashes between officers of the Joint Task Force and members of the Islamist group Boko Haram. AFP Photo

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has strongly condemned the killing of thousands of people in a Nigerian town by Boko Haram militants.

“Terror attacks in which innocent people are brutally killed cannot be tolerated regardless of religion, civilization and justification,” Erdoğan said in a statement on Jan. 8.

The Turkish president expressed solidarity with the Nigerian people and offered his condolences to the victims’ families.

He said the attack confirmed the inevitable need for the international community to actively cooperate against terrorism.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also offered condolences to the Nigerian government and people. Referring to reports of thousands of deaths in the Lake Chad town of Baga alone, Çavuşoğlu said: “I would like to stress that Turkey will continue to stand with France and Nigeria against terrorist attacks.”

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry had issued a statement condemning the attack.

“We have learned with great sorrow that thousands of people were brutally slaughtered by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s Baga town, located in the northeast of the country,” the statement said.