RIYADH: Thousands of mourners joined yesterday the funeral of eight people killed during an unprecedented rampage against minority Shias in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Seven of the dead were killed when masked gunmen opened fire on Monday night at a crowd in Al Dalwa town, as Shias commemorated Ashura, one of their holiest occasions.
An eighth from a neighbouring village was killed by the assailants as they robbed his car to use in the attack, residents and local press said. Mourners poured into Al Dalwa from across the Sunni-dominated kingdom, a witness said, adding that some also came from neighbouring Bahrain.
“Sunnis and Shias, we are brothers! We shall not abandon our homeland,” chanted mourners, according to footage aired online, amid calls to reject sectarianism.
Senior officials in the kingdom have denounced the “terrorist” attack, which also led to the deaths of two policemen in a shootout with alleged suspects.
Posters of the deceased Sunni policemen were carried in the funeral. Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef on Wednesday evening visited families of the murdered civilians, as well as the wounded in hospital, the official Saudi Press Agency said.AFp
