Tánaiste(Ireland’s deputy leader) and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore has expressed his profound regrets on behalf of theIrish Governmentand people of Ireland at the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, as a result of the 11th September attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi.

The locals were protesting over Sam Bacile’s movie “Innocence of Muslims” which calls Islam “a cancer”. Despite the loss of life and riots caused by the protests, Bacile remains unrepentant and vows to release further movies on the religion, according to the Telegraph.

In a statement, Gilmore said, “I have learned with great sadness of the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and of a number of his colleagues, following yesterday’s attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi. I wish to convey my deepest personal condolences and those of the Irish Government and people to the bereaved and to the people of the United States.

“I also wish to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi yesterday which led to Ambassador Stevens’ death and those of his colleagues. Attacks on diplomatic missions are completely unacceptable and cannot be justified in any terms. I welcome Libyan President Magariaf’s condemnation of the incident and strongly urge the Libyan authorities to conduct the most thorough investigation into yesterday’s events and to ensure that those responsible are speedily apprehended and brought to justice in a court of law.”

Gilmore went on to comment on the sad fact that Stevens and his colleagues died on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

He said, “Sadly, hatred and extremism continue to blight our world. We must not follow those who take this path. We must stand together against them. Ireland stands with the people of the United States in this moment of grief. We stand with the government of Libya at this time of challenge. We stand with all those in the Arab world who promote peace, democracy, tolerance and human rights in this region at this time of historic change.”

On Wednesday morning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “Today many Americans are asking, indeed I asked myself, how could this happen? How could this happen in a country we helped liberate and a city we saved from destruction?

“It reflects just how complicated, indeed how confounding the world can be. This was an attack by a small and savage group, not the people or the government of Libya.”

Also speaking on the matter, President Obama added, “There is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence, none… This attack will not break the bond between the United States and Libya… Make no mistake, justice will be done.”

Source: MerrionStreet.ie

Here’s the CNN report on the attacks in Libya: