Stephanie English |
Friday the 13th proved to be very black for France. Paris was subjected to deadly terrorist acts, leaving around 130 people dead and 100 hospitalized after shots were fired and suicide bombers exploded at the Stade de France stadium where the national side was playing Germany in a friendly football match.
At the Bataclan concert hall, where innocent music lovers finished their working week by going to a concert, terrorists invaded, firing aimlessly into the crowds killing 89 people. French President Francois Hollande, who was present in the Stade de France when the first explosions were heard, has blamed Islamic State for orchestrating these deadly attacks inflicted on France and has vowed to strike back without mercy at what he called an “act of war”.
Unlike the attacks last January on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, the terrorists this time did not purposefully limit their targets. A statement released by ISIS claimed responsibility, condemning Paris as a capital of “abominations and perversions that carried the banner of the cross in Europe.” It was a clear message of culture war; ironic, as France has carried the banner of secularism for more than a century. This evil terror network also said the “smell of death” would linger in France and that the country will remain “top of the list of targets” from fanatical Islamists.
Britain, and the rest of Europe, is on red alert as ISIS militants warned that there was more to come, tweeting that London could be next. But officials have reportedly been working tirelessly to thwart ISIS attacks since the militants declared a caliphate last summer.
As France copes with the aftermath of these abominable attacks, the rest of the world showed its solidarity and displayed the colours of the French flag on the world’s greatest landmarks. Humanity is united against this fight against terrorism – not a war which is fought by brave soldiers but cowardly fanatics who promote their politics by the indiscriminate mass murder of innocents.
