UNITED NATIONS, : A senior UN official has strongly condemned the attack on a ceremony organized by the French consulate to commemorate the end of World War I in a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that resulted in injuries to at least three persons.
High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Miguel Ángel Moratinos, in a statement, stressed that “such terrorist acts are utterly unjustifiable and should not dissuade us from working together to promote mutual respect and understanding among diverse cultures, ethnicities, religions, and faiths.”
The High Representative extended his heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and wished them a speedy recovery.
An improvised explosive device struck the ceremony, attended by representatives of France, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, the French embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a statement.
The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions between France and a number of Muslim countries, after the republication of images of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
France has since been targeted by a series of knife attacks, protests in Islamic countries and a call by some Muslim nations to boycott French goods.
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