World leaders condemn Tunisia attack

World leaders on Wednesday condemned the deadly attacks on a museum in the Tunisian capital that left 23 – including 20 European tourists - dead.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned what he called the “deplorable” attack.

Ban “condemns in the strongest terms today’s attack” against the Bardo museum and “conveys his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this deplorable act,” said his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.

The secretary general also “expresses his solidarity with the Tunisian people and the Tunisian authorities,” the spokesman said.

Also Read: '#JeSuisBardo’ trending on Twitter in solidarity with Tunisia.

As of Wednesday, the motive of the attackers – two of which are said to still be at large – are unknown, said Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the U.S. is prepared to offer assistance to Tunisian authorities in their investigation of the attack against the Bardo museum and “will continue to stand with our Tunisian partners against terrorist violence.”

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of today's heinous violence in Tunisia and condemn in the strongest terms this terrorist attack, which took the lives of innocent Tunisians as well as visiting tourists,” Earnest said.

He said American officials are in touch with Tunisian authorities and that the U.S. is proud of its “robust cooperation with Tunisia on counterterrorism and broader security issues.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that “the United States stands with the Tunisian people at this difficult time and continues to support the Tunisian government’s efforts to advance a secure, prosperous, and democratic Tunisia.”

“It is not by chance that today’s terrorism affects a country that represents hope for the Arab world. The hope for peace, the hope for stability, the hope for democracy. This hope must live,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement minutes after the crisis ended.

A while later, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said “terrorist organizations” were behind the attack. “The EU is determined to mobilize all the tools it has to fully support Tunisia in the fight against terrorism,” she added.

Two Colombian nationals were among the tourists killed in an attack Wednesday on Tunisia's national museum, President Juan Manuel Santos said.

“We lament the death of 2 Colombians in Tunis and offer condolences to their family,” Santos said on his Twitter account.

(With AP and Reuters)