Three explosive devices thrown at Russian consulate in Marseille - UPDATED/VIDEO
French police confirmed three projectiles were thrown at the perimeter wall of Russia's consulate in the southern city of Marseille on Monday, but no one was injured.
Only two of the three devices detonated in the attack, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
It was not immediately clear if the projectiles cleared the wall. French media outlet BFM TV said the projectiles were Molotov cocktails and that they landed in the consulate's garden.
Consulate staff were kept indoors and the consulate was sealed off by police. No one was injured in the attack, which is being investigated by police.
France swiftly condemned the incident saying diplomatic missions were inviolable.
"France condemns any infringement of the security of diplomatic compounds," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in the wake of the attack.
"The inviolability, protection and integrity of diplomatic and consular compounds and their staff are fundamental principles in international law," the spokesperson added.
The explosions that have occurred at the Russian consulate general in the French city of Marseille resemble a terrorist attack, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated.
"The blasts at the Russian consulate general in Marseille exhibit all the signs of a terrorist attack," the diplomat stated, News.Az reports, citing TASS.
"We demand that the host country take immediate, thorough action to investigate the incident, as well as measures to improve the security of Russia’s foreign facilities," she added.
Earlier, France’s BFMTV reported that an explosion had occurred near the Russian consulate in Marseille, likely causing no casualties. Around 30 firefighters arrived at the scene. A reporter for the Valeurs Actuelles magazine, in turn, specified that unidentified persons must have thrown two Molotov cocktails into the consulate’s garden. A stolen car was found near the scene of the incident.
A blast was heard on Monday near the Russian consulate in the French southern port city of Marseille and firemen were at the site, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
French police could not immediately confirm the reports.
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