Sierra Leone Condemns Israeli Airstrikes in Doha at UN Security Council
Sierra Leone has joined the growing international outcry against Israel’s recent airstrikes in Doha, Qatar, which left several Hamas officials and a Qatari national dead.
Speaking at an emergency United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Thursday, Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, strongly condemned the attack. He stressed that such actions undermine diplomacy and violate international law.
“An assault on the territory of a mediator is not only a violation of its sovereignty but also a direct strike on the very architecture of diplomacy,” Ambassador Kanu told the Council, where Sierra Leone currently serves as a non-permanent member.
The emergency session was convened at the request of Algeria and Pakistan following Tuesday’s Israeli airstrike, which targeted Hamas officials in Doha. Israel has defended the attack as retaliation for a terrorist incident in Jerusalem that killed six people and injured more than twenty others.
While Israeli officials hailed the strike as a necessary security measure, it has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders and institutions, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Turkey, the Vatican, and the United Nations. Qatar’s Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, also attended the UNSC deliberations in New York.
The United States, which was reportedly informed of the strike in advance, distanced itself from the decision. President Donald Trump expressed regret over the attack, describing it as a unilateral move by Jerusalem.