Maria Laura Avignolo
11/11/2020 9:02
Clarín.com
World
Updated 11/11/2020 9:02 AM
A new
attack with explosive grenades
took place this Wednesday in the non-Muslim cemetery of Jeddah, the most liberal of the cities of Saudi Arabia, in full ceremony for the
Armistice Day
of November 18, 1919, the end of the First World War .
There are many injured.
The
British, French and Greek consuls
, among others,
were present at the ceremonies and the
attacker was arrested.
The French newspaper
Le Figaro
reported that the grenade was thrown over the wall.
It produced at least 4 injuries, including a Greek citizen, but no French were injured.
Among the injured are Saudi guards, who were guarding the ceremony.
This is the second attack targeted by
French interests
in Jedda. On October 29, a guard at the French consulate, on the day of the attack in Nice, was attacked amid the controversy over the cartoons of the Prophet Mohamad.
"The consul general of France, Italy and Great Britain were present at the ceremony, as well as the French and British defense attaché," explained a French security source. The attack was reported by the French Chancellery, a week later. the terrorist attack on the Notre Dame de Nice cathedral and the beheading of a teacher for showing Muhammad cartoons to his students, in a class on freedom of expression.
"The annual ceremony commemorated the end of the First World War in the non-Muslim cemetery of Jeddah, where different consuls general and the French consul were the target of an attack with an explosive this morning, which has caused several injuries," said the Foreign Ministry French, without specifying the identity of the victims.
One of the entrances to the non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah.
Photo: AFP
"France firmly condemns the attack, which has no justification," continued the French Foreign Ministry, after calling for clarification and identifying and prosecuting its perpetrators.
The attack takes place in a
climate of rejection of France
and a boycott of its products in the Middle East.
President Emmanuel Macron publicly said he would not give up cartoons, in a national tribute to Professor Samuel Paty.
The teacher was beheaded by a Chechen Islamist on October 16 for the cartoons.
He also claimed the right to blasphemy deities, which in Salafi countries
is paid with the death penalty.
President Emmanuel Macron tried to calm down, explaining in an interview on the Arab network Al Jazeera,
French secularism
and the right to guarantee the exercise of all religions in France.
#ArabieSaoudite Tentative d'attentat ce matin au cimetière des non-Muslims 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 Consulate, la France encore visée!?
pic.twitter.com/whjBGlLdad
- Clarence Rodriguez (@Clarencewoman) November 11, 2020
Saudi Arabia had condemned the attack in Nice.
But his imams denounced the cartoons of Muhammad published in Charlie Hebdo.
After the terrorist attack in Jeddah, the US consulate issued a statement warning its citizens "to exercise the utmost caution."
The French embassy did not issue a statement except through the chancellery.
In those countries, Western consulates maintain a telephone alert service with their citizens.
Saudi Arabia, which exercises
rigorous Wahhabi Islam
, has launched a series of reforms for free enterprise, led by Crown Prince
Mohammed Bin Salman
.
The heir has been accused by the CIA of having ordered the assassination and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The kingdom holds the presidency of the G20.
In 10 days the summit is held by videoconference, following the pandemic.
President Emmanuel Macron was celebrating Armistice Day, at the Arc de Triomphe, when the attack took place.
He was accompanied by former President Nicolas Sarkozy and Head of State Francois Hollande, who said: "Are you doing well? Isn't it too hard these days?" Macron replied: "Yes. A little. Thank you for being here. We need to talk ”.
Macron wore the Bleuet de France, a traditional button rehabilitated by Hollande to commemorate each armistice.
Paris, correspondent
ap
Look also
Terrorist attack in France: three people stabbed to death in Nice basilica
A professor, his murderer and the failure of French integration
France shields itself against coronavirus and terrorism: Parisians flee to the countryside
