Cyprus President ‘horrified’ by Nice attack

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said he was horrified by the attack in Nice on Thursday and has expressed solidarity to French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Horrified and saddened by the attack at #Nice this morning,” President Anastasiades wrote on his Twitter account in French.

“President @EmmanuelMacron and our French friends, we share your pain and we stand in solidarity with you.

“We are united against hate and terrorism. Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones,” tweeted Anastasiades.

Three people were killed and several others injured in what Macron said was an “Islamist terrorist attack”.

A 21-year-old Tunisian national armed with a knife attacked church-goers in the French city of Nice.

Macron said following the attack that the number of soldiers deployed to protect schools and religious sites would be doubled, to 7,000.

The French government has raised its security alert level to its maximum level.

The attack comes just 12 days after a teacher was beheaded in the Paris suburbs and on the eve of a second lockdown across France due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities said the attack took place inside Notre-Dame basilica in the heart of Nice’s old city and that the attacker was shot and wounded. He was taken to hospital.

A man and woman were killed inside the church. The third victim, a 44-year-old woman who managed to flee, died at a nearby restaurant.