Various religion groups march in Helsinki to protest against terrorism

Hundreds of people from different religion groups marched in downtown Helsinki on Sunday to mourn the victims killed in Paris attacks Friday night and demonstrated against terrorist activities, local media reported.

Police estimated that there were 350 to 500 people participating in the rally.

The demonstrators gathered in the Senate Square in front of the Helsinki Cathedral, where representatives of different religions condemned hostilities and violence happened recently. They also appealed for peace.

After that, they marched toward the French Embassy in Kaivopuisto. Along the way, more and more people took part in the parade.

Some refugees arriving in Finland also joined the crowd. They told the Finnish daily Turun Sanomat that they deeply regretted the terror attacks in Paris and blamed the offenses.

The attacks in Paris on Friday shocked the whole Finnish society, one of the organizers said to media.

Participants of the event included adherents of the Evangelical-Lutheran church, the Orthodox church, the Catholic Church and the Jewish community, as well as the Islamic Sunni and Shiite communities.

Several restaurants, a concert hall and a sport stadium across Paris were attacked by gunmen and bombs on Friday evening, leaving 129 people killed and 352 injured. The series of coordinated incidents were called by French President Francois Hollande as "an unprecedented terrorist attack." Endit