Philippines Condoles with Egypt; Condemns Sinai Terror Attack
The Philippines on Friday expressed its condolences to Egypt as it condemned a deadly terrorist attack at a mosque in the Northern Sinai that killed at least 200 people and wounded many others.
“The Philippines strongly condemns this cowardly act perpetrated against our Muslim brothers and sisters in Egypt,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs a few hours after the attack.
“We join the people and government of Egypt and the rest of the world in mourning the loss of many innocent lives in the tragedy,” Secretary Cayetano said.
“Attacks on any place of worship are totally unacceptable,” Secretary Cayetano said as he also echoed President Rodrigo Duterte’s desire to promote interfaith harmony as one course of action that the international community can take to counter violent extremism.
“The incident in the Northern Sinai today must reinforce the resolve not only of the various governments but also the major faiths around the world to work together and fight these forces of terror,” Secretary Cayetano said.
The Philippine Embassy in Cairo said it is monitoring the incident and that initial reports indicate that there are no Filipinos among the casualties in the attack.
According to Ambassador Leslie Baja, the attack took place at the Al-Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed Province, about 300 kilometers northeast of Cairo.
Ambassador Baja said the attack involved at least one suicide bomber and several gunmen who targeted Sufi Muslim worshipers attending Friday afternoon prayers.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Embassy reminded the 5,183 registered Filipinos of its previous advisories cautioning them from going to the Northern Sinai Region because of the high risk of terrorist attacks. END