More than two dozen graves were desecrated at a Jewish cemetery in Wolfisheim, in the eastern French region of Alsace. It was the second incident of its type in the area this year, authorities said. Twenty-seven graves, including those of children, were damaged and many headstones overturned and covered in profanities. The incident happened between Sunday and Wednesday morning, a judicial source said.

“The perpetrators of this criminal act have taken away that which is most sacred to the human conscience," the local Jewish community said in a statement. The town of Wolfisheim is about eight miles from the regional capital Strasbourg.

In January, around 30 Jewish graves were desecrated in the Strasbourg area, on the same day as the commemoration of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. In June, 18 Muslim tombs were desecrated in the area.