Saudi Arabia bomb blast leaves four injured at remembrance memorial service

A file picture of the French consulate in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jiddah
AFP via Getty Images
April Roach @aprilroach2811 November 2020

Four people have been wounded after a device exploded during a Remembrance service at a cemetery in the Saudi Arabian city of Jiddah.

Several European diplomats attended the ceremony which was held at a cemetery for non-Muslims, said officials from the French Foreign Ministry. 

A Greek official told Reuters four people had been injured in the attack, including one Greek person.

Saudi state television broadcast from outside the cemetery acknowledged that an attack involving an explosive device took place, but stressed that things were under control and the security situation was “stable”.

Wednesday marks the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and is commemorated in several European countries. 

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "The embassies that were involved in the commemoration ceremony condemn this cowardly attack, which is completely unjustified. 

“They call on the Saudi authorities to shed as much light as they can on this attack, and to identify and hunt down the perpetrators.”

French official Nadia Chaaya told the French news channel BFM that she was at the cemetery when she heard an explosion as the consul general was near the end of his speech.

“At that moment we didn’t really understand, but we felt that we were the target because directly we saw the smoke and we were of course in panic mode,” she said. “We tried to understand, and we were most of all afraid to see if there was going to be a second wave.”

She said the group scattered in different directions into the street.

The attack comes after a stabbing on October 29 that slightly wounded a guard at the French Consulate in the city of Jiddah. The stabbing was carried out by a Saudi man, who was arrested. His motives remain unclear.

France has urged its citizens in the kingdom to be "on maximum alert" amid heightened tensions after an assailant decapitated a French middle school teacher who showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class.

The French president's support for caricatures as a cornerstone of free speech has angered some Muslims who view the depictions as incitement and a form of hate speech.

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