Several injuries following attack at non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia during Remembrance Day ceremony
Several people were injured in a suspected grenade attack during a Remembrance Day ceremony held at a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning.
Representatives from several countries were at the cemetery when the attack took place. An unnamed Greek official told Reuters that four people had been injured. However, the Mecca governorate authorities said just two people – a Greek consulate employee and a Saudi security guard – were harmed in the incident.
“The embassies that were involved in the commemoration ceremony condemn this cowardly attack, which is completely unjustified,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They called on the Saudi authorities to “shed as much light as they can on this attack, and to identify and hunt down the perpetrators.”
Photos shared on social media purport to show a wounded dignitary lying on the ground, with blood spatters alongside memorial wreaths.
#ArabieSaoudite Tentative d'attentat ce matin au cimetière des non-musulmans à #Jeddah. Lors de la cérémonie du #11Novembre. En présence du Consul Général de France, 🇮🇪, 🇬🇧...& expatriés français. Des blessés...15j après attaque au couteau au Consulat, la France encore visée !? pic.twitter.com/whjBGlLdad
— Clarence Rodriguez (@Clarencewoman) November 11, 2020
French Senator Damien Regnard tweeted a message of support for those injured in the blast. “All my support to our compatriots in Saudi Arabia and in Jeddah,” he wrote.
The consulate reportedly cautioned French nationals living in Saudi Arabia to exercise “maximum vigilance” in the aftermath of the attack.
“In particular, exercise discretion, and stay away from all gatherings and be cautious when moving around,” the statement, issued to French residents in Jeddah, reads as cited by the media.
The attack comes just 12 days after a knife attack at the French consulate in Jeddah, on the same day three people were killed in an Islamist terrorist attack in Nice.
The French embassy in the UAE and consulate in Dubai issued a joint statement after the attack advising French residents to maintain vigilance.
France has faced escalating tensions with the Muslim world in recent weeks. In mid-October, a school teacher was beheaded near Paris after he showed cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to his students. President Macron endorsed the caricatures and proclaimed a crackdown on “radical Islam.” This stance caused uproar in Muslim countries.
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