Four people have been wounded after an explosive blasted in Jeddah of Saudi Arabia. The blast took place in a cemetery for the non-Muslim dead where officials and diplomats from over the world, including France, had gathered to commemorate the armistice for the end of World War 1.
Although the officials did not ascertain as to whether the count of injured included any diplomats, a Greek official said on the condition of anonymity that four people had been wounded out of which one was a Greek.
The event was being celebrated in Jeddah’s Khawajaat Cemetery and was attended by consuls belonging to many European nations, along with the United States and the United Kingdom. The embassies of all the countries condemned the attack and urged the Saudi government to carry out an in-depth probe in the matter.
The French foreign ministry while calling it a “cowardly attack” said that no amount of explanation or reason could justify the blast.
Al Arabiya, the Saudi news agency, reported saying that along with a worker of the Greek embassy, a Saudi security guard was also a victim in the attack.
However, the Saudi officials stressed that the security situation at the blast site was stable.
Following the attack, the French embassy of Saudi requested its citizens to stay on “maximum alert” as attacks on French have increased since the Paris beheading. Its embassy of UAE too called on its French residents to remain indoors and be cautious of public places.
In October, a Saudi citizen had attacked the guard present at the French consulate of Jeddah. The guard was also a Saudi citizen and had not suffered major injuries. The same day, there was another attack in a Church in south France’s city of Nice as a man killed three people, two men and one woman.
The French President Emmanuel Macron became a part of the Armistice Day ceremony held in Paris today after which the attack took place in Saudi Arabia.
Several countries are marking the 102nd anniversary of the armistice signed by Germany and Allied countries to end World War 1.
Macron has been on the receiving end of the hate from Muslims, including some countries, after his statements of “reforming Islam according to the Republican ideologies”. His repetitive words of defence for the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, terming Muslims as terrorists and speaking ill of Islam has garnered him tremendous amount of hate.
People have gone up to boycotting French products due to Macron’s statement. He later tried to say that he is only aiming to protect the rights of his citizens, in what seemed like a realization following the massive outrage.
The Charlie Hebdo cartoons gained momentum after a professor in Paris was beheaded allegedly because he showed the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed to his students during a class of free speech.
