(LEAD) Man who posted threatening flyers at French Embassy in Seoul caught

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details in paras 2-3)

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- Police on Wednesday caught a foreign national who allegedly posted threatening flyers on the wall of the French Embassy building in Seoul, warning France against what he called the country's anti-Muslim stance.

The man, whose nationality and identity were withheld, was booked and under investigation on charges of threatening diplomatic representatives. Police said they have identified a foreign male accomplice and were pursuing the person still at large.

The two were alleged to have put up five flyers on the wall of the embassy building in central Seoul around 10:30 p.m. Sunday

The papers carried messages including "Do not ignore Muslims," "Do not destroy our religion" and "Those who point swords at us will be killed by the same swords."

Included on one of the flyers was a picture of French President Emmanuel Macron painted with a red X mark, according to police.

The incident came amid growing tensions between France and the Muslim world over the recent death of a history teacher who shared French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in his class. A Muslim teenager who was offended by his action allegedly beheaded him near his school last month, according to media reports.

The cartoons are considered highly blasphemous in Muslim society. The publication had led to a massive terror attack against Charlie Hebdo in 2015.

Macron called the recent incident an "Islamic terrorist attack," sparking criticism among Muslims from some Islamic nations, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Lebanon, who claim the French president is fueling Islamophobia.

nyway@yna.co.kr
(END)