African leaders send condolences to Russia following terror attack

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - African leaders sent condolences Saturday to the people of Russia and the government, following a terror attack that killed more than 130 victims in Moscow.

The death toll from Friday’s shooting at the Crocus City concert hall in the Moscow region rose to 133 after additional bodies were pulled from the debris, the Russian Investigative Committee said Saturday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was shocked and saddened by the attack.

“We are deeply saddened and we pay our condolences to the people of Russia following the tragic terror attack that killed so many people,” he wrote on X. “It is always sad when so many people are killed in a terror attack.”

Ramaphosa said he would talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next few days to congratulate him on his reelection and discuss other things, including the Ukraine-Russia war.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat condemned the attack and sent “deepest condolences” to the bereaved families while expressing solidarity with the people and the Russian government.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud “strongly condemned” the heinous terror attack and expressed his deepest condolences to the victims, their families and all those affected by the horrific tragedy.

A statement said the Somali government stands in solidarity with the Russian people during the “difficult time and rejects all forms of violence and terrorism.”

Senegal’s President Macky Sall offered heartfelt condolences and expressed “solidarity with the Russian people and government.”

Burkina Faso expressed “its compassion and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, to the government and to the entire Russian people,” according to a statement by a government spokesman.

The government expressed “the hope that the perpetrators of these heinous murders will be held accountable.”

Mali’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack and expressed “deep compassion of the Malian nation to the authorities and the people of Russia.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi strongly condemned the terror attack and expressed “his total solidarity with the Russian authorities in the face of terrorism.”

The Investigative Committee said it detained 11 people, including four perpetrators, in the border region of Bryansk, who were on their way to Ukraine.