JEDDAH: The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has condemned the attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in the UK and Northern Ireland by radical religious groups.
The General Secretariat called for a thorough investigation of the “unacceptable attack.”
Protesters broke into the embassy on Thursday, leading to eight arrests after the country’s flag was taken down and Arabic slogans were daubed on the building’s walls.
A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police told Metro newspaper that it had received “reports of protesters who had entered the premises.”
“Eight men were arrested on suspicion of trespass and criminal damage. They were taken into custody where they remain. No injuries were reported. Enquiries are ongoing.”
The protest was led by members of a Shiite group. The group said it was taking “urgent action” against the country’s government. Azerbaijan is a majority Shiite country, but the state — bordering Iran, Georgia and Armenia — is secular.
In 2018, the Iranian Embassy in London also accused the group of targeting its premises after four armed men broke in to protest the country’s arrest of Iraqi cleric Hussein Al-Shirazi.
Separately, in the wake of the tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the US has urged the two countries to call for dialogue over the conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“Secretary Blinken assured Prime Minister Pashinyan that the US is watching the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh closely,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
