Four Egyptian nationals were among those killed in the New Zealand mosque attack, Egypt’s Minister of Immigration, Nabila Markam, said on Saturday.
Makram said that the ministry agreed with the Misr El Kheir Foundation (MEK) to transfer the bodies of victims to Egypt if their families requested that.
She added that the New Zealand government has offered to bear the cost of transporting the bodies to their countries, and investigations are ongoing to check whether there are any other victims.
On Friday, a gunman attacked two mosques in the city of Christchurch during Friday prayer, killing at least 49 people and 48 others were injured.
The attack was globally described as a terrorist attack. New Zealand Police Commissioner, Mike Bush, said the attack was “very well-planned,” and said that the mosques across the country will remain under police protection.
New Zealand also said that that a 28-year-old man has been charged with murder and referred to the Christchurch District Court on Saturday morning. Two other suspects remain in custody.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said that it is following up with the Egyptian embassy in New Zealand on the developments of the attack and will continue to communicate with New Zealand’s authorities in this regard.
Egypt condemned the terrorist attack and expressed sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing the speedy recovery for the injured, according to a statement by the country’s Ministry of Foreign.
The statement also expressed support for New Zealand and the families of the victims, saying that “this vile terrorist act contravenes all humanitarian principles.”
“This act represents the need to continue and intensify the international efforts to fight abhorrent terrorism, which has no religion, and to confront all forms of violence and extremism,” according to the statement.
In another statement, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has condemned “in the strongest terms” the “vicious” terror attack.
He described the attack as one which “brutally targeted worshippers in the houses of God to shake the conscience of humanity and put in front of it its fundamental responsibilities in the importance of joining international efforts for a full-out confrontation with terrorism, violence, and extremism.”
President Al-Sisi stressed the importance of exerting efforts to boost and consolidate the values of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and accepting one another.
Moreover, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb condemned the shootings at two mosques, saying: “The attack is a serious sign of the terrible consequences that can result from the escalation of hate speech, xenophobia, and Islamophobia in a number of western countries.”
Furthermore, New Zealand’s ambassador to Egypt, Greg Lewis, said that the comments by Australian Senator Fraser Anning – who issued a statement attacking Muslims – do not represent the views of New Zealanders.
“Fraser Anning is not a New Zealander and his extreme views are condemned by politicians in New Zealand and in his own country, Australia,” Lewis stressed.
