S. African gov't condemns blasts in London

The South African government condemned Thursday's attacks on London's transport network.

"As South Africa, we join the rest of the international community in condemning any acts of terrorism," the South African president's spokesman Bheki Khumalo said from Gleneagles, Scotland, on Thursday where Thabo Mbeki is attending a summit of the G8 group of developed nations.

"We believe there is no reason for anyone to resort to these kinds of things and kill innocent people. The sanctity of human life is something all of us must hold very dearly," he added.

This applied even more at a time when leaders of the world's rich nations were gathered to deal with issues of "global apartheid" and poverty, Khumalo said.

Important issues like climate change, poverty and underdevelopment, especially in Africa, should not now be put on the backburner, Khumalo said.

"In fact, we must even redouble our efforts to achieve results on these issues."

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said the blasts " clearly constitute acts of terrorism and must be condemned in the strongest terms and without equivocation by the international community.

"Attacks against civilians can never be justified under any circumstances. In this context, we are confident that the British government will thoroughly investigate the matter with a view to bringing the perpetrators of these heinous deeds to face the full might of the law," he said.

The South African government would liaise with the British government to determine whether there were any South Africans affected adversely by the blasts, Pahad said.

No report of S. African injuries in London blasts

There was no report of any South African injuries in Thursday morning's explosions in London, a South African government source has said.

However, a statement is officially expected to be made by Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa later on Thursday afternoon.

South African President Thabo Mbeki and his government issued a statement, condemning the blasts in London.

Mbeki was scheduled to be at Gleneagles for the G8 summit to participate in events related to the summit's focus on African development.

Meanwhile on BBC World, British Prime Minister Tony Blair noted that it was reasonably clear that what had happened in London on Thursday was "a series of terrorist attacks."

Source: Xinhua