PARIS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova condemned the attack on the Paris weekly Charlie Hebdo, the UNESCO announced in a press release publish on Wednesday.
"I am horrified by this shocking attack against the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo," stated UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova, adding that "my heart goes out to the families of the bereaved and to those who have been injured."
Bokova said this is more than a personal tragedy.
"It is an attack on the media and freedom of expression. The world community cannot allow extremists to silence the free flow of opinions and ideas. We must work together to bring the perpetrators to justice and stand together for a free and independent press," reaffirmed the Director-General.
At least 12 people, including two police officers, were killed at noon time on Wednesday in a shooting at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, a satirical newspaper.
In November 2011, the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo was fire bombed after it put an image of the Prophet Mohammad on its cover.
