Reaction to NZ mosque attacks

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the death of six of its citizens in the Christchurch mosque shootings.

Spokesman Dr Mohamed Faisal said Sohail Shahid, Syed Jahandad Ali, Syed Areeb Ahmed, Mahboob Haroon, Naeem Rashid and his son Talha's deaths have been confirmed by New Zealand authorities.

He added three other Pakistan-born people missing after the attack were still being identified.

An Indonesian student has told the BBC how he escaped the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch as a gunman began an attack on worshipers.

Irfan Yunianto was in a small room performing Friday prayers and listening to the sermon when he heard a loud noise.

Irfan YuniantoCopyright: Irfan Yunianto

"Seconds later I heard rapid gunfire," he said.

He ran out of an emergency exit door beside him and into a car park behind the mosque, where people were attempting to climb the gate to escape.

Yunianto said a friend helped him climb the gate and he hid in a retired doctor's house with "at least 15 people, two of them were injured".

"He was so kind, offering us beverages and a place to rest," he said.

"We didn’t dare to go outside as we were afraid of being shot or even worse, meet with the perpetrator."

The group were evacuated by police about five hours after the attack.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

When he appeared in court this morning, suspect Brenton Tarrant smirked and flashed what has been described as a white power symbol.

The symbol, which looks the same as a traditional 'OK' hand gesture, is said to be used by white nationalists and racist internet trolls to signal to one another.

Tarrant's use of it fits in with a mocking, self-aware approach he took to the lengthy racist document he published before allegedly carrying out the attack.

Parts of the document contain serious white nationalist conspiracy theories and racist ideologies, but others are designed to troll the mainstream media - effectively a nod and a wink to an online community of racists who enjoy baiting the media and others alien to white nationalist subculture.

Three Jordanian people are among the 49 victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Jordan's news agency Petra has reported.

The news agency quoted a government spokesman who said the director of consular affairs Ambassador Ahed Sweidat had left Amman for New Zealand following the attack.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The people of Christchurch turned out on Saturday to show their rejection of the hate that inspired Friday’s attacks.

In ones and twos and in family groups, people visited a makeshift memorial set up on the edge of Hagley Park.

And outside the two mosques that were attacked mourners laid flowers. Many left hand written notes. “This is not New Zealand” read one.

The mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel, said the killer came to the city with hate in his heart, to perform an act of terrorism. But she said he did not represent anything about the city.

Still there are uncomfortable questions for the authorities here. The man now in custody, Brenton Tarrant, made no secret of his support for white supremacy.

He had reportedly been planning the attacks for months. And yet he was not on any police watch list.

Nor did he have any trouble getting a gun license, and buying a collection of high-powered weapons.

New Zealand police will hold another press conference on Sunday morning, local time, following a court appearance by the suspect on Saturday.

The press conference will be at 09:30 (20:30 GMT Saturday).

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Only one gunman is believed to have been involved in Friday's terror attack, Police Commissioner Mike Bush suggested.

Speaking at a press conference, he said New Zealand police had not seen any evidence to suggest there was more than one gunman involved in the attacks.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, was arrested and has appeared in court over a single murder charge.

Two other people were arrested - police have said they are trying to determine whether the two were involved in the attacks.

Three Egyptian citizens are said to have been killed in Friday's attack on two mosques in New Zealand, the Masrawy news website reports.

The article includes a statement from presidential spokesman Bassam Radi, quoting President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

In it the Egyptian president says the the attack "requires the international community to unite its efforts to counter terrorism".

There was a message of solidarity as faith and community leaders, joined by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, held a gathering at the East London Mosque dedicated to victims of the New Zealand mosque shootings.

Posters saying "no to Islamophobia" and "this will not divide us" were held up at the event in Whitechapel, as one speaker after another called for people to come together.

Read the full story here.

Australian TV host Waleed Aly gave an emotional opening to his comedy news show The Project on Friday night. He started by saying he hadn't wanted to speak on the killings, but had "this overwhelming sense that it was something in my responsibility to do so, and maybe that’s misguided".

He said that "of all the things I could say tonight... the most dishonest thing would be to say that I’m shocked. I’m simply not... If we’re honest, we all know this has been coming."

He went on to call on Australian politicians to "show us how tough you are now" in tackling white supremacists as they have Islamic terror threats.

A far-right Australian senator who blamed Friday's attack on Muslim immigration to New Zealand had to be restrained on Saturday after punching a teenage boy protesting his comments.

Queensland Senator Fraser Anning had an egg thrown at him during a press conference in Melbourne, leading the politician to punch the man in the face repeatedly.

On Friday, Mr Anning said the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, in which 49 people died, were the result of Muslim immigration into New Zealand.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Anning's comments were "appalling" and "ugly" and had "no place in Australia".

Australian news outlet 7 News Sydney reported a 17-year-old had been arrested and released by police over the incident.

A moving video here from Polyfest, an annual festival celebrating Maori and Pacific Island cultures in New Zealand.

The last day of the event has been cancelled, and a traditional ceremony was held as flags were lowered on site.

Christchurch's Botanic Gardens, close to both mosques, has become a place of memorial, where people are leaving flowers, tributes and messages to the victims and the Islamic community.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

The New Zealand Herald has picked up comments made by Attorney-General David Parker at a vigil in Auckland, saying the government would ban semi-automatic rifles.

He also warned about rising extremism, the paper reports.

"There is a dimming of enlightenment in many parts of the world. How can it be right for this atrocity to be filmed by the murderer using a go-pro and live-streamed across the world by social media companies? How can that be right? Who should be held accountable for that?"

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel says she supports Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's promise to change the country's gun laws.

"There have been tightening of the gun laws in this country over time," she said.

"But yes, I think that as people are in a situation where they can accumulate weapons and they can turn relatively straightforward rifles into semi-automatic weapons of a military nature, that is not something that we should allow to happen."

In a report seen by BBC Monitoring, religious organisations in Indonesia have been urging people to "avoid provocation and refrain from sharing online footage of terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand".

Christian and Islamic groups condemned the shooting and called on the Indonesian government to prevent tensions from building up, the Jakarta Post reports.

New Zealand officials have begun the difficult task of identifying the 49 people who died in Friday's terror attack in Christchurch.

It is becoming clear that some of the victims were refugees who thought they had found safety in New Zealand.

Sayyad Milne, 14, was at the Al Noor mosque on Friday with his mother.

His father told New Zealand media on Saturday: "I haven't heard officially yet that he's actually passed but I know he has because he was seen."

Amna SardarCopyright: Amna Sardar

Naeem Rashid was originally from Abbottabad in Pakistan. He was a teacher in Christchurch.

In the live video of the attack at one point he was seen attempting to tackle the gunman.

His family told BBC Urdu he was taken to hospital but they believe he died, along with his teenage son, Talha.

Read the full story here.

The BBC's Indonesian service has been speaking to the brother of an Indonesian man who was injured in the attack along with his son, aged two.

Zulfirman Syah was shot several times, while his son has a gunshot wound to the leg and backside.

"My brother is still at the intensive care unit. Yesterday he underwent surgery because a bullet penetrated his lung," Hendra Yaspita said. "He can’t communicate now. But I was told by his wife that he's in a stable condition, despite unconscious.

"On the other hand, my nephew, thanks to God, is getting better."