Saudi Arabia, world stand in solidarity with Spain in confronting terrorists

A police officer talks to people attending to injured persons at the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday. (REUTERS/Giselle Loots)

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia denounced in the strongest term the terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain that killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more.
“Saudi Arabia offers its sincerest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Spanish government,” said a statement released by a source at the Saudi Foreign Ministry. 
The statement said the Kingdom “stands in solidarity with Spain against all form of terrorism and extremism” and called on the international community to rally all efforts to eradicate this epidemic from its roots.
The Spanish royal family issued an unusually strongly worded statement: They are assassins, criminals who won’t terrorize us. All of Spain is Barcelona.
FC Barcelona said it was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and the team’s talismanic striker Lionel Messi said separately that people must reject “any act of violence.”
“There are many more of us who want to live in a world in peace, without hate and where respect and tolerance are the basis of coexistence,” he added.
World leaders also denounced the terrorist attack, with US President Donald Trump saying this country stood ready to help Spanish authorities.
“The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help,” Trump tweeted.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron — whose country witnessed a similar horror when a Tunisian man plowed a 19-ton truck through a crowded boulevard in Nice, killing 86 people in July 2016 — said his thoughts were with the victims of the “tragic attack.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the world to unite in an “uncompromising battle against the forces of terror” after a deadly van attack in Barcelona, the Kremlin said.
“We decisively condemn this cruel and cynical crime against civilians,” Putin wrote in a telegram of condolences to Spanish King Felipe VI.
“What happened once again confirms the need for a genuine unification of efforts by the entire world community in an uncompromising battle with the forces of terror,” Putin said.
In a statement, the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were thinking of the victims of the “revolting attack” with “profound sadness.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “I send my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, as well as to Prime Minister Rajoy and the people of Spain. My thoughts are with the people of Barcelona.”
President Emmanuel Macron voiced “France’s solidarity” with Spanish citizens following what he called “a tragic attack.”
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said: “Parisians are at your side. Barcelona and Paris are cities that share love and tolerance. Our values are much stronger than this heinous and cowardly act of terrorism.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted: “My thoughts are with the victims of today’s terrible attack in Barcelona ... and the emergency services responding to this ongoing incident. The UK stands with Spain against terror.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the attack “barbaric,” adding: “London stands with Barcelona against the evil of terrorism.”
It was a “cowardly attack against innocent people,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a statement on his Facebook page, calling it a “black day at a place where many people around the world gathered.”
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey strongly condemned the “henious terrorist attack.”
Pope Francis’s spokesman said in a statement: “The Pope prays for the victims of this attack and wishes to express his closeness to all the Spanish people, especially the wounded and families of the victims.”
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, a star with Spanish premier club Real Madrid, said he was “dismayed” by the attack and voiced “support and solidarity with the families and friends of the victims.”