Reactions in the Aftermath of the Istanbul Attack

Romanian authorities firmly condemn the attack and stress the need for joint international efforts to fight terrorism.

Leyla Cheamil, 29.06.2016, 13:39

Previously regarded as a pretty safe country, Turkey is now the site of extreme violence either by the separatist PKK party or by ISIS, the terrorist organization that controls extended areas in Syria and Iraq. On Tuesday night, Istanbul, which is Turkeys commercial, cultural and historical center, was the site of a new bloody attack that claimed the lives of dozens of people and injured 150. Several foreigners have been reported among the victims, but most of them are Turks.

The suicide attack, held in full tourist season, targeted the Ataturk airport, the third busiest airport in Europe. Three attackers started shooting at people close to the international flights terminal, using automatic weapons, and after an exchange of fire with security forces they blew themselves up. Authorities in Ankara suspect ISIS as having masterminded the attack. “We call on the world, especially on the Western countries, to take a firm stand against terrorism,” the countrys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said soon after the attack.

The Romanian authorities have condemned the attack and emphasized the need for joint international efforts to deter such actions. President Klaus Iohannis has conveyed a message of condolence, and defined the attack as an atrocity, a cruel act against innocent citizens. President Iohannis has reiterated Romanias firm commitment to fighting terrorism. Romanias Foreign Ministry has too condemned the attack and stressed Romanias pledge to combat all forms of terrorism, also highlighting the need for joint international efforts to fight this plague.

A series of attacks have been staged in Turkey as of July 2015, when a man blew himself up among a group of young Kurds in a city at the border with Syria, and killed dozens of them. Also last year, in autumn, over one hundred people died in Ankara during a protest of the Turkish opposition, following a double suicide attack. The wave of attacks has continued this year, turning the area into a dangerous place.