The RCMP is investigating after the Syrian embassy in Ottawa was splattered with red paint Feb. 3 during a protest outside its doors condemning the ongoing violence in the country.
Protester Yaman Marwah said around 11 p.m. he witnessed a car drive up in front of the embassy. A man, whose face was covered by a scarf, stepped out of the car and threw two cans of red paint on the doorstep and porch of the building before driving away.
Marwah said that although there was a strong police presence at the protest, with at least four RCMP cars parked in front of the embassy, none of the officers intervened or pursued the car.
Marwah said he did not know the man, nor was the man part of the protest, which was organized by the Syrian Canadian Council.
RCMP Const. Julie Morel said the Mounties are investigating.
“We’re happy it happened,” said Marwah. “We don’t know that man…we all know it’s against the law, but more happened at embassies all over the world and we’re glad something happened in Canada.”
Friday night’s protest was made up of about 70 to 80 Syrian-Canadians, mostly young adults, who gathered in front of the embassy until 3 a.m. Saturday morning. Many of the protesters drove to Ottawa from Montreal.
The protest was in response to the violence in Homs, a Syrian city where government forces killed more than 200 civilians on the weekend, according to Reuters.
Marwah said it was a peaceful protest, with people chanting and screaming non-stop outside the embassy.
There was also another protest in front of both the Syrian and Russian embassies on Saturday morning, with many of the same people attending.
China and Russia have blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to end government attacks against civilians. That has sparked anger among Syrian-Canadians as the violence continues. The U.N. estimates at least 5,600 people have been killed in the fighting.