"A crime against learning and innocence"

16 December 2014 – "Less than a week after Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, this heinous attack is a crime against the future of all children and the nation of Pakistan," UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said, expressing her outrage and distress following the attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, that has cost the lives of at least 130 people, most of them children.

The bloody Peshawar school siege is over, some eight hours after it begun. The responsibility for the second deadliest terror attack Pakistan’s recent history has been claimed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a 'revenge' for army operations in North Waziristan and the Khyber area.

Senseless and cold blooded

All around the world, people react in shock to the Taliban massacre, including Nobel Peace Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai (picture), who strongly condemned this "senseless and cold blooded act of terror."

"Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this. I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts and stand united with the government and armed forces of Pakistan whose efforts so far to address this horrific event are commendable. I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and sisters - but we will never be defeated."

A crime against learning and innocence

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called the bloody attack "a crime against learning and against innocence, committed in the very place where children come each day to open their minds - their own school."

"I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends who have lost their close of kin in this tragedy and call on the perpetrators of this crime to be brought to justice", UNESCO Director-General I. Bokova said. "On this occasion, UNESCO stands firmly with the Government of Pakistan in its commitment to ensure the right of every girl and boy to a quality education."

"Terror will not silence the millions of voices around the world that are demanding education to be a right and for schools to be safe. We will not let fear nor terror have the upper hand."