By KUNA
Paris : French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner late Monday strongly condemned the blast at the Hotel Serena in central Kabul, where at least seven people were killed and several more wounded, including a Norwegian journalist and a diplomat.
A suicide bomber apparently exploded a device close to the entrance to the hotel and gunmen followed this act by firing on people in the vicinity. The Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Storre, who was at the hotel, was whisked away to safety in the lower levels of the building. He was not injured.
“I am shocked and moved,” Kouchner said. “I firmly condemn the cruelty of this terrorist act perpetrated against civilians and which brings death once again to Afghanistan.” Kouchner sent a message of support to his Norwegian counterpart and those injured and he expressed strong determination to support the Afghan people who are “victims of blind violence which has no justification.” Such terrorism will push France “to reaffirm its solidarity with the Afghan people in its fight for a free and pacified Afghanistan,” the French minister said.
He also reiterated French support for development in Afghanistan and for the achievement of peace and stability.
“We will continue to help so that these can be found,” Kouchner remarked.