THE recent terrorist attacks which claimed 34 lives and injured 230 others in Belgium have once again underscored the need for the world to rise up in unison against terror­ism. The attacks on an airport and a rush-hour metro train in Brussels occurred four days after a prime suspect in the November 13, 2015 attack in Paris, Salah Abdesalam, was arrested in the city.

The claim of responsibility for the Brussels bombings by the Is­lamic State (IS) is a stern reminder to the world of the resolve of the terrorist group to continue to per­petuate terror to advance its shady cause. We condemn this latest af­front to world peace and security. It has become obvious to the global community that an attack on one country is an attack on all.

We, therefore, applaud the prompt denunciation of the at­tack by world leaders, including our own President Muhammadu Buhari. We join the call for more concerted global action to defeat global terror as presently being advanced by the IS and its affiliates. The message that light will always prevail over darkness must be reinforced.

Our heart goes out to all the victims of the terror attacks in Belgium. We sympathise with the Prime Minister, Charles Michael, and all Belgians, especially the relatives of the victims. We hope they find some solace in the knowledge that the civilised world stands with them at this trying moment.

The war against terror must go on. This is why we call on the entire peoples of the world and their leaderships to be on the alert and stand resolute against terrorism, wherever it raises its ugly head. These evil-minded terrorists are not contemplating giving up their extreme ways, so the world’s resolve to crush and completely annihilate them must remain undiminished.

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As the world condemns the Brussels incident, another terrorist attack is probably in the offing. But, who knows where next? In this Belgian attack, only two out of three bombs went off, as the third was defused, thereby reducing the casualty figure. In the Paris attack of last year, about 130 pre­cious lives were lost. These are very painful and unaffordable losses for the global community to bear. Efforts must henceforth be concentrated on nip­ping these potential attacks in the bud to severely reduce these losses.

If this goal must be attained in good time, the leaders of the world, espe­cially the G7, must put their squabbles for influence and global prominence aside and unite in action against this one enemy of humanity. It is, perhaps, significant that the latest Belgian terror attacks occurred at the time the U.S President, Barack Obama, was making a historic visit to Cuba and, as he put it, “burying the last remnants of the Cold War”.

Now, the world has no choice but to unite against this common enemy. It has become obvious that by whatever name they are called, these terror­ists who hold on to a weird ideology will stop at nothing to ruin the world and redefine its boundaries. The task is made even more difficult by their non-conventional methods of warfare, but the world must not be deterred, knowing that ultimately, the forces of evil which these terrorists represent cannot defeat good.

It is believed that the Belgian terror attacks may have been facilitated by three young men caught on camera pushing laden luggage trolleys through the Zaventen Airport moments before the explosions. Two of them are suspected to have blown up themselves, while the third is on the run. We are confident that the law, which is currently on his trail, will catch up with him. This suspect, together with the Paris suspect, Abdesalam, should not be allowed to get away with their crimes. They should be brought to justice to deter other terrorists from their nefarious activities.

That should send the right signal to the terrorists and their sponsors that the world is as determined as ever to deal decisively with them and put a stop to their blood-letting. It is a tall order, we admit, but it is an objective that can be achieved with concerted global efforts.