By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
The UN Secretary-General on Tuesday condemned the killing of dozens of children in Pakistan by Taliban gunmen as a “blood-curdling attack” and urged the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“It is an act of horror and rank cowardice to attack defenseless children while they learn,” Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council ahead of an address on regional cooperation.
At least 141 people, 132 of them children, were killed early Tuesday in when militants stormed an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
"I condemn this heinous act in the strongest possible terms. No cause can justify such brutality. No grievance can excuse such horror," the Secretary-General said, stressing that the UN would continue to support the Pakistani government in its fight against terror.
Pakistan's security forces said their operation to reclaim the school had ended, with all seven attackers killed.
The militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a response to the army's anti-terror operations in the Waziristan tribal area, which began June 15.
"We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females," Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani said. "We want them to feel the pain."
The Pakistani army says it has killed more than 1,500 Taliban militants in the past six months.
Senior UN officials echoed the Secretary-General’s remarks, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, also condemning the "vicious attack on defenseless children.”
“The Taliban have sunk to an all-time depth with this attack,” Zeid said, calling for a comprehensive international struggle to combat extremism.
"No government or intelligence agencies, no religious figures, no wealthy sponsors, no members of the general public can possibly justify continuing support for the Taliban, ISIL, Boko Haram, al-Qaida or any of these takfiri groups which appear to be competing to attain the highest level of human barbarity," he said.
Tony Lake, the head of the UN children agency UNICEF, called the attack “horrific” and “callous” and said it should have more of an impact than merely to shock the conscience of the world.
“It must also summon us, all the more, to support the parents of Pakistan who wish for their children the best possible education – and all those who are working to provide it,” he said.
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