Cuban Embassy in Paris attacked with petrol bombs, France beefs up security

[July 27, 2021]  PARIS (Reuters) -Cuba's embassy in Paris said on Tuesday it had been attacked overnight with petrol bombs that caused some damage but no injuries to its staff, in an incident that prompted French authorities to beef up security around the building.

Three petrol bombs were thrown by two unnamed individuals, causing a fire on the facade and the entrance of the building, the embassy said in a statement.

Cuba has been rocked by protests against a deep economic crisis, the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and curbs on civil liberties, prompting the Communist-run country to restrict access to social media.

Cuba's foreign ministry published photos of the petrol bombs on its official Twitter feed.

"Those directly responsible for these acts are those who incite violence and hatred against our country," it said.

Its embassy in Paris pointed the finger at the United States, saying such acts had been "encouraged by campaigns by the U.S. government against our country."

The foreign ministers of the United States and 20 other countries on Monday condemned mass arrests in Cuba and called for full restoration of Internet access.

Experts inspect the damage at the Cuban embassy following an overnight petrol bomb attack on its building, in Paris, France July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

France's foreign ministry condemned the attack on the Cuban embassy, adding that a judicial investigation had been opened to try and determine who was behind it. It confirmed that there had been some material damage but no injuries.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Matthieu Protard, Sophie Louet; Writing by Matthieu Protard and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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