" King of Jordan warns of 'world war' against humanity "
(Mian Khalid Jamil, Lahore)
Jordan's King Abdullah II
warned Tuesday of a "third world war against humanity", describing the Islamic
State group as "savage outlaws of religion" in the wake of the Paris attacks.
During an official visit to Kosovo, Abdullah said both Europe and Islam were
under attack from the "scourge" of terrorism that could strike anywhere and at
any time.
"We are facing a third world war against humanity and this is what brings us all
together," he told a press conference.
"This is a war, as I've said repeatedly, within Islam," he said, stressing the
high number of Muslim victims of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Abdullah said groups such as IS "expose themselves daily as savage outlaws of
religion, devoid of humanity, respecting no laws and no boundaries".
"So therefore we must act fast and holistically to tackle and respond to the
interconnected threats whether it is in this region, Africa, Asia or in Europe,"
he said.
In France's worst-ever terror attacks, IS gunmen and suicide bombers murdered
129 people in coordinated onslaughts in Paris on Friday night.
Muslim-majority Jordan is, like France, a member of the US-led coalition
battling the group, which controls swathes of land in its neighbours Iraq and
Syria.
On Sunday, Abdullah said fighting extremism was "our fight as Muslims against
those who aim to turn our societies and future generations towards fanaticism
and extremism".
Jordan says it has taken in 1.4 million Syrians fleeing the war there since it
broke out in 2011, but the UNHCR puts the figure at 600,000.
At least 250,000 people have died in more than four years of conflict in Syria.