Barcelona marks 5 years since deadly terror attack
Barcelona, Aug 17, (EFE).- Barcelona marked Wednesday five years since the deadly terror attacks in the northeastern region of Catalonia that killed 16 people and injured over 130.
Hundreds of people congregated at La Rambla, the popular tourist spot in the center of the city, for a ceremony presided by regional president of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, and Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, among other officials.
The relatives of the attack’s victims laid flower wreaths at the Joan Miró mosaic on La Rambla, the iconic tree-lined mall on which 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub plowed a van into pedestrians on the afternoon of Aug. 17, 2017.
Nine hours after the massacre, five men allegedly belonging to the same extremist Islamist cell mowed over pedestrians in the seaside town of Cambrils, located some 110 kilometers (68 miles) to the south of Barcelona, killing a person and injuring six others before being shot down by police.
Following a minute of silence, Aragonès thanked emergency services for their efforts during the attack and paid tribute to the victims and their families.
The victims were Spanish nationals, tourists from Europe, South America and Asia and included several minors.
The ceremony was marred by a group of pro-independence protesters who claim the Spanish central government has marginalized the Catalan people and ignored their suffering since the deadly attack in 2017.
“On August 2017, Barcelona and Cambrils suffered hatred and terror in their streets. Five years later, we remember the victims of these attacks with our goal set on continuing to build a future of peace. Let us continue to move forward united for freedom and coexistence,” Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on Twitter. EFE
int/mp/jt
