News / France

France attacks aimed at undermining fight against terror: Hollande

Monday, 16 November 2015 4:16 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 16 November 2015 7:18 PM ]

This November 16, 2015 video grab shows French President Francois Hollande addressing the French Parliament on Daesh-claimed attacks in Paris.

French president Francois Hollande has blasted a recent wave of terror attacks in the French capital as a ploy to harm the 'ongoing international fight against terrorism', saying his country will not be deterred by such bloody acts.

In an address to the French parliament on Monday, Hollande said that he is going to increase the French military's air strikes against Daesh in Syria.

He said the attacks on Friday on a number of venues in Paris originated from Syria, where Daesh is present, saying the shootings and explosions were then “organized in Belgium and perpetrated in France."

France is among the pioneers supporting militant groups fighting the Syrian government forces in the war-torn Arab country. The Daesh terror group has also emerged from among those terrorists that have been fighting the Syrian government since 2011.

Hollande said he had ordered new air strikes against the positions of Daesh in Raqqa, the de facto capital of the terror group in Syria, adding that a request has also been sent to the United Nations for the body to convene “as quickly as possible” a meeting to adopt a resolution to intensify the fight against militants in Syria.

"We will continue the strikes in the weeks to come," Hollande told lawmakers in a solemn address.

The French president said Daesh is not only an enemy of France, but an enemy of all of Europe, adding that the continent is also reeling from a refugee crisis which has “links” to the terror attacks in Europe.

He said the European Union must step up efforts to protect its external borders, adding that the 28-nation bloc should expedite its efforts for banning the trafficking of weapons and arms across its borders.

“We must be merciless,” he said, adding that the Europeans must react to the current situation with force.

At least 132 people were killed and 350 others injured after assailants struck several different venues in the French capital late on Friday.

In a statement on Saturday, the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bloody attacks. Many blame the rise of the terrorist group on the policies adopted by some Western states and their allies in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Turkey are known as the main regional backers of Daesh.

Hollande said on Sunday that he wanted to increase a 12- day state of emergency to three months to ensure the country would not come under similar attacks.

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