Moroccan papers condemn bombings

Street where Belgian consulate was targeted

Sunday newspaper editions in Morocco all strongly condemn the bomb attacks in Casablanca on Friday evening, which left at least 41 dead.

They stress that terrorism will not undermine the values of Moroccan civilisation or Moroccan unity, and that the kingdom will not allow anything to put its security and stability at risk.

Under the headline "No to terrorism and we all should fight it", the Casablanca daily Al Ahdath al Maghribiya writes that "the terrorists targeted Morocco, a moderate Muslim country engaged in the process of democracy-building because they are against democracy."

Terrorism does not frighten us and democracy is our future

Al Ittihad al Ichtiraki

"They seek to thwart the aspirations of Moroccans to make strides in this direction and enter the age of development and modernisation."

The paper says it is "confident Morocco will overcome these difficulties quickly and will continue its progress down the path of democracy-building at a greater pace".

Foreign Terror

The Rabat paper Al-Alam publishes the headline "A savage terrorist aggression with foreign hands".

It says the Moroccan people have nothing to do with terrorism, are not involved in terrorist organisations and are united with the king in the march of development.

We ought to fight the extremism that is using violence to hit the Arab and Muslim worlds

Al-Sahara al-Maghribiya

Under the headline "Terrorism does not frighten us and democracy is our future", Casablanca's Al Ittihad al Ichtiraki writes that "Morocco will not change its position regarding the fight against terrorism."

It says that terrorism now appears to have two goals: "Terrorising the Moroccan people and making them doubt their security bodies, on the one hand, and pushing them towards giving up the democratic option and the state of law".

Savagery and Inhumanity

Casablanca daily Bayan al Youm says "the savage aggression for which Casablanca was the scene did not just claim victims but was a crime against the rights of all the Moroccan people and Morocco."

For the Casablanca-based Al-Sahara al-Maghribiya, "the extent of the savagery of the aggressive acts that targeted Casablanca could only be measured by their inhumanity."

"We ought to fight the extremism that is using violence to hit the Arab and Muslim worlds."

Everyone must shoulder responsibility for mobilising the energies of society in order to consolidate democratic values and protect our country against deviations and extremism

Al Bayane

Casablanca daily Attajdid sees links with previous attacks elsewhere, which are "part of a plan that seeks to distort the image of Islam and the Muslims".

"The plan has targeted Saudi Arabia, headed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Morocco, led by the Commander of the Faithful."

Lessons to be drawn

The Rabat-based Attajamou paper says "those who choose destruction over construction and the path of suicide over life do not have Moroccan blood in their veins."

The French-language Casablanca daily Al Bayane stresses that "everyone must shoulder responsibility for mobilising the energies of society in order to consolidate democratic values and protect our country against deviations and extremism."

The French-language Rabat-based L'Opinion writes that "Morocco, its people, government and institutions must draw lessons and be alert in order to thwart the aggressive plans of the enemies, who are the enemies of democracy, openness and tolerance."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.