Friday's terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall is a "heinous crime" that should not go unpunished, Abdoulaye Diallo, the communications officer of the Collective for the rebuilding of Mali, told Sputnik Africa, adding that these tragic events are pleasing the Ukrainian authorities.
"First of all, I would like to express my condolences to the Russian people, to the families of the victims who died in this horror," he stressed. "This criminal act, which took place in Russia, is also a source of joy for the Ukrainian authorities, who want to harm Russia at all costs."
According to the activist, if other people do harm to Russia, "even if the order does not come from them [the Ukrainian authorities], they will be ready to welcome these people."
As for the perpetrators of the bloody crime, Diallo said he "cannot put the responsibility on the Daesh*."
"If we put the responsibility for this attack on Daesh*, it will exonerate the real perpetrators," he added.
Another analyst from Benin, columnist Modeste Dossou, told Sputnik Africa that although Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, he doubts that they were the perpetrators, saying that "Daesh's method is not necessarily the one used at Crocus City Hall."
"Are these really the methods of Daesh? We've never seen Daesh carry out an attack and exfiltrate so quickly. They often carry out suicide attacks. They detonate bombs or shoot and stay there until the troops come to arrest or neutralize them," he explained.
The thesis of Daesh's involvement in the terrorist attack near Moscow is "a false path," Sylvain Takoué, the general director of the Vladimir Putin International Prize and president of the African cultural movement SOTOVPOA (Total Support for Vladimir Putin in Africa), told Sputnik Africa.
"Making people believe that Daesh is claiming responsibility for this attack effectively clears the way for the real sponsors, while this is not Daesh's procedure," he argued.
The fact that the perpetrators fled towards Ukraine could indicate a desire to return to "their rear base" with the aim of "rendering account to their sponsors," Takoué added.
On the other hand, it could be a "simulation plan" to "make it look like the attack was sponsored by Ukraine," the general director pointed out.
"On this point, too, eyes are turning to those who could have been the real sponsors, in this case Russia's adversaries, those in the NATO bloc," he elaborated.
The experts were echoed by Bayala Lianhoué Imhotep, a political analyst from Burkina Faso, who said that the fact that the perpetrators of Friday's terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow tried to flee to Ukraine indicates that the clients of the terrorist attack are Western countries.
The direction taken by the terrorists is indicative of the possible sponsors behind this act," he said. "The direction towards Ukraine clearly shows that this is a hostile attack by the Western international coalition."
As for the possible involvement of Daesh, "it's clearly questionable whether they're not serving Western interests," he said.
"I clearly believe that it's just a kind of veneer we're trying to put on the Western responsibility for this slaughter, and Daesh is playing the fool in order to take the blame off the West and NATO," the analyst concluded.
After Friday's attack, several Western media outlets, citing anonymous US officials, blamed Daesh.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson told Sputnik on Saturday that the US continues to believe the Daesh terrorist group is responsible for the terrorist attack.
Responding to the allegations, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Sputnik that there is no need to rush to conclusions, as Russian special services are conducting investigations to find those responsible for the attack.
Eleven people were detained in connection with the attack, including four who were directly involved, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said. FSB added that after the terrorist attack, the criminals intended to cross the border between Russia and Ukraine through relevant contacts in Ukraine.
As a result of the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, 154 people were injured, including five children, the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the Moscow Region said on Sunday. 133 people are pronounced dead, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.
*A terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other states.