Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of a group of Shi’ite Muslims recently killed in a deadly attack on a religious ceremony in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Mourners from across Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Bahrain poured into al-Dalwah town in al-Ahsa Governorate of Eastern Province on Friday, Press TV reported.
Mourners carried photos of those killed in the attack and called for unity between Sunnis and Shi’ites. "Sunnis and Shi’ites, we are brothers! We shall not abandon our homeland," chanted the mourners.
On Monday night, masked gunmen stormed a mourning procession marking Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Husayn (A), the third Shi’ite Imam, in al-Dalwah, and opened fire as people were observing Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram.
Seven Shi’ite mourners, including children, were killed in the terrorist attack.
Another person had been also gunned down by the assailants in a neighbouring village as they hijacked his car to use it in the attack.
Saudi authorities have accused al-Qaeda militants of the attack.
The assault on Shi’ite mourners comes as Saudi officials themselves show zero tolerance toward anti-government demonstrations in the oil-rich kingdom, and have harshly cracked down on such protests.
International human rights organizations have criticized Saudi Arabia for failing to address the rights situation in the kingdom. They say Saudi Arabia has persistently implemented repressive policies that stifle freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Activists say there are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.
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