World leaders offer condolences to Jordan in wake of deadly attack

AMMAN — World leaders have offered their condolences to Jordan over the loss of lives in a terror attack on the Kingdom’s border with Syria.

Six Jordanian troops were killed and 14 others injured when a car bomb exploded at a military post serving refugees in the Rakban area at dawn on Tuesday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the families of the victims, his spokesperson said in a statement.

The UN chief reiterated his solidarity with the government and people of Jordan, and expressed concern that the attack took place opposite an encampment where Syrian refugees await entry into the Kingdom, the spokesman added.

Ban commended Jordan for its “continued commitment and efforts to uphold humanitarian principles”, the statement said, adding that he urged governments around the world to support the Kingdom in its fight against terrorism.

The US also condemned the “heinous” attack and expressed its “deepest condolences to the victims, their families, and the Jordanian people”, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.

“We remain committed to Jordan’s security and stability,” Kirby said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, adding that the US would “continue to provide assistance and cooperate closely with Jordan in the wake of this heinous attack”.

The US will work with Jordan to ensure humanitarian support continues to be provided to Syrian refugees and their hosts, the statement said, taking note of Jordan’s “tremendous sacrifices” in hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees.

“As always, the United States stands together with Jordan,” the statement added.

In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier strongly condemned the terrorist attack and offered Germany’s condolences.

“We express our heartfelt and deep sympathy to the Jordanian people. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims,” Steinmeier said, according to a statement released Wednesday by the German embassy in Amman.

The German minister noted that Jordan has assumed a “heavy responsibility” in receiving huge numbers of refugees, whose situation is now aggravated by the attack.

“Germany will continue to support Jordan to the extent possible in preserving and strengthening its internal peace and stability in a region that has suffered a long period of conflict and instability,” Steinmeier added.

His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday received cables from Arab heads of states and foreign leaders expressing their condemnation and condolences over the attack, according to a Royal Court statement.

King Abdullah received cables from Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Spanish King Felipe VI, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

His Majesty also received messages of support from Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz, and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defence Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the statement added.

The Saudi deputy crown prince also called His Majesty on Wednesday and expressed Riyadh’s suport for Jordan.

Later on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh received a phone call from his US counterpart John Kerry, who reaffirmed Washington’s solidarity with Amman.

Tunisia and Oman also condemned the attack and expressed their solidarity with the Kingdom in the fight against terrorism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Council of the Evangelical Churches of Jordan also deplored the attack, which it described as a cowardly and heinous crime, noting that it targeted security personnel whose job was to receive refugees and offer them a safe haven, Petra said.