Several wounded in Remembrance Day bomb attack at Saudi cemetery

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Saudi police close a street leading to a non-Muslim cemetery in the Saudi city of Jeddah where a bomb struck a World War I commemoration attended by European diplomats on November 11, 2020.
Saudi police close a street leading to a non-Muslim cemetery in the Saudi city of Jeddah where a bomb struck a World War I commemoration attended by European diplomats on November 11, 2020.

Jeddah - The blast targeted a First World War commemoration ceremony attended by several EU diplomatic delegations.

By AFP

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Published: Wed 11 Nov 2020, 8:44 PM

A bomb blast struck a First World War commemoration attended by Western diplomats in the Saudi city of Jeddah Wednesday, leaving several people wounded in the second assault on diplomatic missions in recent weeks, officials said.

The attack at a non-Muslim cemetery comes less than a month after a guard at the French consulate in Jeddah was wounded by a knife-wielding Saudi citizen.


Diplomats from France, Greece, Italy, Britain and the United States were in attendance at the Armistice Day commemoration ceremony in the Red Sea port city, according to a joint statement from their embassies that condemned the "cowardly attack".

"The annual ceremony commemorating the end of World War I at the non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, attended by several consulates, including that of France, was the target of an IED (improvised explosive device) attack this morning, which injured several people," France's foreign ministry said.


A Greek policeman residing in the Kingdom was among those wounded, a Greek diplomatic source told AFP.

A British citizen was also believed to have been wounded.

A Saudi policeman suffered minor injuries, state-owned Ekhbariya television added, citing the governor of Makkah region, where Jeddah is located.

"(Saudi) security services will launch an investigation into an incident of aggression during a gathering of a number of consuls in Jeddah," Ekhbariya said.

- Panic -

The bomb triggered panic as it went off while the French consul was delivering a speech at the ceremony, according to eyewitness Nadia Chaaya.

"At the end of the speech we heard an explosion. We didn't quite understand it at first, but we then realised that we were the target," Chaaya told France's BFMTV.

"We were panicking and feared there could be a second explosion. We left the cemetery and went out into the street and everyone went their separate ways."

Roads leading up to the cemetery in central Jeddah were blocked by Saudi traffic police, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

While condemning the "shameful" attack, the embassies of the countries involved in the commemoration lauded "brave Saudi first responders who assisted those at the scene".

The European Union delegation in the kingdom also thanked Saudi emergency services, while urging local authorities to hold a "prompt and thorough investigation" of the attack.

"I have full confidence the Saudi Authorities will investigate this attack and prosecute those responsible for this cowardly act," James Cleverly, the British minister for the Middle East and North Africa, said on Twitter.

- 'Extreme vigilance' -

Several countries are marking the 102nd anniversary of the armistice signed by Germany and Allied countries to end the war.

Macron has vigorously defended the right to publish cartoons viewed as offensive by some, including caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) printed by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The Charlie Hebdo cartoons were shown by French history teacher Samuel Paty to pupils in a class on free speech, leading to his beheading outside Paris on October 16 following an online campaign by parents angry over his choice of lesson material.

Saudi Arabia -- home to Islam's holiest sites -- has criticised the cartoons, saying it rejected "any attempt to link Islam and terrorism" but stopped short of condemning the French leadership.

Riyadh also "strongly" condemned last month's attack in Nice.

On Tuesday, Macron hosted a summit of European leaders to plot a joint approach on combating extremism after four people were killed in a shooting rampage in the heart of Vienna last week.


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