Durban - A pall hangs over Paris on Sunday following the bombing and shooting attacks on Friday night at a concert hall, sports stadium and restaurants that left at least 129 dead and 99 fighting for their lives.
A further 100 people were seriously injured.
The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks and the French government declared a national state of emergency while investigating the atrocities and tracking down suspects.
Late Saturday night, several suspects were arrested in Belgium following a series of police raids linked to the attacks. Three properties in the Molenbeek district of Brussels were reportedly searched.
IS has claimed the attacks were in retaliation for France’s air strikes on Syria, which started in September this year, and Iraq last year.
In the wake of the latest terror onslaught on France’s capital, the normally bustling streets of Paris were deserted on Saturday, and all public amenities were closed.
An angry President Francois Hollande on Saturday promised a “merciless” response, describing the attacks as an act of war against France.
Hollande said the attacks had been organised from abroad by IS, with internal help.
Sources close to the investigation said one of the dead gunmen was French with ties to Islamist militants. Syrian and Egyptian passports were found near the bodies of two of the suicide bombers.
“Faced with war, the country must take appropriate action,” Hollande said after an emergency meeting of security chiefs.
“France will be merciless towards these barbarians from Daesh,” he said, using an Arab acronym for IS.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy said: “The war we must wage should be total.”
The apparently co-ordinated attacks in Paris occurred at the 1 500-seater Bataclan Hall, where US rock group Eagles of Death Metal were performing to a capacity crowd, at three busy nearby restaurants near the Place de la Republique and the Place de la Bastille and at the Stade de France sports stadium on the northern edge of Paris, where Hollande and 80 000 spectators were watching a friendly international between France and Germany.
Concert-goers told the BBC that they initially thought the sound of gunshots and the explosion were part of the rock performance, until they saw bodies begin to fall.
IS gunmen reportedly took hostages before security forces intervened.
Three of the militants blew themselves up with grenades and a fourth was killed by police. Yesterday it was reported that eight attackers were dead.
Reports on international news sites stated that the restaurants and a bar were targeted by IS gunmen wielding Kalashnikov rifles.
At Stade de France, Hollande was whisked to safety and immediately convened an emergency meeting, followed by his declaration of a state of emergency – the first in France since 2005 and only the second since World War II.
In January, Paris made international headlines when 12 people died at the hands of Islamist terrorists who targeted the offices of weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
A further five died in related attacks elsewhere in the city before the gunmen were killed by police. On January 11, 2 million people and 40 heads of state paid tribute to the dead at a rally of international unity held in Paris.
France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, has authorised local authorities to impose curfews if needed.
He paid tribute to police and emergency services who acted with bravery and selflessness amid these acts of barbarism.
The BBC on Saturday called the attacks “the deadliest in Europe since the 2004 Madrid bombings” when 191 people died in attacks by an al-Qaeda terrorist cell.
Many countries lit up public landmarks in the colours of the French flag on Saturday to show solidarity with the French people, and Facebook users could talk of little else but the killings.
President Jacob Zuma has expressed his sadness and solidarity with the French people.
Clayson Monyela, spokesman for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation said: “The South African president has sent a message of condolences to President Francois Hollande, the government and the people of France following this incident.
“We have the French people in our thoughts and prayers. South Africa condemns this terrible attack in the strongest terms. The international community needs to fight terrorism at all costs.”
World leaders have similarly condemned the attack, with US President Barack Obama calling it an “outrageous attempt to terrorise innocent civilians”.
Speaking from the White House on Saturday, Obama said: “This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share. This is a heartbreaking situation.”
He vowed to do “whatever it takes” to help bring the perpetrators to justice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent “deep condolences to President of France Francois Hollande and all the people of France” and said “Russia strongly condemns this inhumane killing and is ready to provide any and all assistance to investigate these terrorist crimes.”
Sunday Tribune