ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly condemned Thursday 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," Erdogan said in a statement.
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 Mevlut Cavusoglu also offered condolences to the Nigerian government and people.
Referring to reports of thousands of deaths in a single town in Nigeria, Cavusoglu said: "I would like to stress that Turkey will continue to stand with France and Nigeria against the terrorist attacks."
Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry had issued a statement to condemn 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 northeast of the country," the statement said.
According to media reports, Boko Haram recently launched deadly raids in Nigeria's northeastern Baga town that may have left close to 2,000 people dead.
