On fire: Smoke rises from the burning vehicles
at the car park of the US embassy in Tunis during a protest against a
film mocking Islam
Running clashes: Protesters run for cover during a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tunis
On fire: Thick black smoke rises from the U.S.
embassy compound in Tunisia after it was stormed by protesters angry at
an American-made anti-Islam film
Tunisian demonstrators run after security forces fired tear gas towards them outside the US embassy, in Tunis
Anger spreads: Demonstrators protest outside the US embassy in Tunisia today
London: Islamic supporters burn a US flag
outside the US Embassy in London during a protest against the US made
anti-Muslim film purportedly denigrating the Prophet Mohammad
Tunisian protesters break the windows as they
hold Islamic flags above the gate of US embassy in Tunis during a
protest against a film mocking Islam today
In flames: A Hardee's and a Kentucky Fried
Chicken (KFC) fast food outlet burns after protesters set the building
on fire in Tripoli, northern Lebanon
Write caption here
Anger: Lebanese men ransack US fast food chains
Hardee's and KFC as they protest against the controversial film
"Innocence of Muslims" in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli
THE BLACK FLAG OF ISLAM
A black flag is said to have been carried by the Prophet Mohammed and is frequently used as a symbol of the Islamic faith.
Many extremist groups have adopted a black flag with white Arabic inscriptions as their symbol.
This variant is commonly known as 'al-raya' or ' the banner'.
Sudanese police were reportedly
fighting back up to five thousand protesters who had gathered outside
the building in the North African country's capital Khartoum. It is
unclear how many staff were inside the mission, or whether they are all accounted for.
The same group have already stormed
inside and set fire to the German embassy next door, before tearing down
its national flag and hoisting the Islamic banner.
A spokesperson for the British
Foreign Office said: 'We can confirm that there is a protest outside the
British embassy and Sudanese police are on scene.'
Since a 14-minute trailer for the movie, called The Innocence of Muslims, was posted on YouTube by its American producers, turmoil has spread across the Muslim world.
Protests
have erupted in a string of countries across the Middle East and
Africa, including Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Bangladesh, Kashmir, Pakistan, Bahrain, Palestine - as well
as the Sudan.
Across the border, thousands of Egyptian protesters advanced on the US embassy near Tahrir Square in Cairo - in scenes potently reminiscent of the violent clashes that ravaged the city's streets during the Arab uprising last year.
Hurling
stones and shouting slogans at the phalanx of heavily-armed riot police
that stood in their way, returning fire with volleys of tear gas and
rubber bullets in a bid to keep the oncoming crowds at bay.
DOMINO PROTESTS: HOW THE UNREST SPREAD THROUGH THE MUSLIM WORLD
Burning passion: Bahrainis burn replicas of American and Israeli flags during a protest after midday prayers in Diraz
- LEBANON - Security forces opened fire in the northeastern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing one person after a crowd angry over the film set fire to a KFC and a Hardee's restaurant. About 25 people were wounded in the melee, including 18 policemen who were hit with stones and glass.
- SUDAN - Several hundred protesters stormed the German Embassy in the capital, Khartoum, burning a car parked behind its gates and trash cans. Police fired tear gas, pushing the protesters outside the embassy's gates. There appeared to be no injuries to embassy staff and no apparent damage to the building. Most protesters dispersed, but a group marched to protest at the nearby British Embassy.
- YEMEN - Security forces shot live rounds in the air and fired tear gas at a crowd of around 2,000 protesters trying to march to the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Sanaa. Police kept the crowd about a block away from the embassy. Friday's demonstration came a day after hundreds stormed the embassy compound and burned the American flag.
- EGYPT - Riot police clashed with hundreds of protesters blocks away from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, as the president broadcast an appeal to Muslims to protect embassies and tried to patch up strained relations with Washington. After weekly prayers, a crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square tore up an American flag, and waved a black, Islamist flag. When protesters tried to move toward the embassy, ranks of police confronted them, firing tear gas.
- IRAN - Thousands shouted 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' in Tehran in a demonstration after Friday prayers. Some burned the American and Israeli flags. State TV says similar protests were held in other Iranian cities.
- BAHRAIN - More than 2,000 protesters chanted against the film and burned American and Israeli flags after Friday prayers in a Shiite mosque in Diraz, outside the capital, Manama. Security forces were absent, even though the area is a hotbed of opposition in Bahrain's 19-month Shiite-led uprising against the Sunni ruling system. Separately, Bahrain's Interior Ministry ordered media regulators to attempt to block access to the film clip in the Gulf kingdom.
- IRAQ - Hundreds demonstrated in Baghdad's northern Sunni neighborhood of Azamaiyah, some shouting: 'No, no America! No, no to Israel,' and, 'We are ready to sacrifice ourselves for our Prophet.' Dozens also marched in Baghdad's Sadr City, a poor Shiite area in the capital's northeast. In the southern city of Basra, about 1,000 took to the streets and burned the American and Israeli flags. One banner said: 'Freedom doesn't mean offending two billion Muslims.'
- TUNISIA - A crowd of several thousand demonstrators protested outside the US embassy in Tunis. Police respond to stone-throwing with tear gas. An AP reporter on the scene witnessed several people overcome by intense clouds of gas. An army helicopter flew overhead while armored vehicles protected the embassy.
- ISRAEL - The Israeli police say about 400 people marched toward the U.S. consulate in east Jerusalem in protest over the prophet film. Demonstrators threw bottles and stones at police, who responded by firing stun grenades. Four protesters were arrested and the crowd was prevented from reaching the U.S. consulate.
- WEST BANK - In the city of Nablus, about 200 people demonstrated against the film as Muslim clerics throughout the territory preached against it in Friday sermons.
- SYRIA - About 200 protesters waved the Syrian flag and shouted anti-American slogans outside the long-closed U.S. Embassy in Damascus. The crowd held banners saying: 'He who curses the Prophet doesn't seek democracy' and 'a nation whose Prophet is Mohammad, would never kneel down.' The U.S. embassy has been closed since February because of the country's bloody conflict that has killed about 23,000 people.
- AFGHANISTAN - About 1,500 protested in the eastern city of Jalalabad, shouting 'Death to America' and urged President Hamid Karzai to cut relations with the U.S.
- PAKISTAN - Hundreds of hardline Muslims held peaceful protests against the film throughout Pakistan, shouting slogans and carrying banners criticizing the U.S. and those involved in the film. Police in Islamabad set up barricades and razor wire to prevent protesters from getting to the diplomatic enclave, where the U.S. Embassy and many other foreign missions are located. Protests were also held in Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore, where protesters shouted 'Down with America' and some burned the U.S. flag. About 200 policemen and barbed wire ringed the U.S. Consulate in Lahore.
- GREAT BRITAIN - In London, around 250 protesters marched noisily but peacefully through Britain's capital to the U.S. embassy. The group, which called itself the 'Defenders of The Prophet,' held placards denouncing the U.S. and perceived Western imperialism.
- TURKEY - Hundreds of people gathered in Istanbul's Beyazit Square to protest the prophet film. The protest was organized by Turkey's main Islamist political party, Saadet.
- MALAYSIA - About 20 protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. They briefly shouted 'Allahu akbar!' or God is great, and handed reporters a letter addressed to the American ambassador expressing anger over the movie and calling for greater respect for religions.
Yemeni protesters run for cover from tear gas
fired by riot police during a demonstration against a film mocking Islam
at a crossroad leading to the US embassy
Smoke rises from the US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, as protesters attempt to storm the building
Protesters run as police use water cannons to disperse them at a crossroad leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen
Destruction: Lebanese men ransack US fast food
chains Hardee's and KFC as they protest against the controversial film
"Innocence of Muslims" in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli
Lebanese protesters wave religious flags and
shout slogans after Friday prayers as part of widespread anger across
the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad
Angry mob: Protesters in Cairo appeared to
answer the Brotherhood's call to arms this morning as thousands advanced
on the US embassy near Tahrir Square, to be met by a phalanx of
heavily-armed riot police in a second day of chaos to blight the city
Bloodshed again: This morning's scenes were potently reminiscent of the
violent clashes that ravaged Cairo's streets during the Arab uprising
last year.
As
the violence continued throughout the day, Egypt's president Hosni
Mubarak appealed for calm on live television, a day after Barack Obama
issued a veiled warning to the region's leaders to quell the violence
and protect America's embassies.
The Egyptian authorities had erected large concrete blocks to block the route to the embassy and deployed hundreds of police.
'Before
the police, we were attacked by Obama,' shouted one demonstrator,
blaming U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. government for
insulting the Prophet.
One
banner held aloft by demonstrators read: 'It is the duty of all Muslims
and Christians to kill Morris Sadek and Sam Bacile and everyone who
participated in the film.'
Several demonstrators - some bearded Islamists wearing traditional gallabiya robes and others youths and young men in T-shirts and jeans - waved green and black flags with Koranic verses on them.
Stand off: A defiant protester taunts the police phalanx from the top of an upturned and burned-out car
Ban the film: A protested goads police, left, as
another attempts to throw a tear gas canister back at police, right. As
the clashes continued, the country's president Hosni Mubarak begged for
calm a day after Barack Obama issued a veiled warning to the region's
leaders to quell the violence
The unrest has raised serious questions over whether the US should cut the billions of dollars in aid it sends to Egypt.
Barack
Obama has already issued a veiled warning of possible repercussions if
those governments do not quell the unrest and protect America's
embassies.
On the subject of Egypt, which the US currently supplies over $1.5billion in aid, he told Telemundo: 'I don't think that we
would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy.
'They're a
new government that is trying to find its way. They were democratically
elected. I think that we are going to have to see how they respond to
this incident.'
You shall not pass: Riot policemen throw stones during clashes with protesters along a road leading to the U.S. embassy
Retaliation: Riot policemen collect stones
during clashes with protesters along a road leading to the U.S. embassy
to throw them back at protesters
Come and get me: Protestors clash with riot
police forces who fired tear gas and rubber bullets, left, and an
officer taunts a rioter, right
And in an ominous sign this morning, the Libyan government closed the air space above Benghazi 'for security measures'.
In the Lebanese city of Tripoli, hundreds of protesters set fire to a branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken, while chanting: 'No More insults to Islam.'
There, one demonstrator was killed and two others were wounded as they tried to storm a government building.
In Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, around 10,000 Muslims from half a dozen Islamist groups staged a noisy protest, burning and trampling American flags while chanting anti-US slogans.
Yesterday, thousands of demonstrators
engaged in running street battles with police in Egyptian capital
Cairo, burning cars and hurling stones while an angry mob stormed the American consulate in Sanaa, in Yemen.
In Libyan capital Benghazi, a similar demonstration was reportedly hijacked by heavily-armed Muslim extremists resulting in the deaths of several Libyan
security guards.
America is still reeling from an
attack on Tuesday that saw a hoard of protesters storm the US Consulate
in Benghazi, Libya, killing the ambassador and three American security
guards.
Street fight: Protesters in Cairo appeared to
answer the Brotherhood's call to arms this morning as thousands advanced
on the US embassy near Tahrir Square to be met by a phalanx of
heavily-armed riot police in a second day of chaos to blight the city
Second day of clashes: The protesters were met
by a wall of heavily-armed riot police who fired tear gas into the
growing crowds in a bid to keep them at bay, throwing stones back into
the crowds
Despite the belief that the militants
who hit the consulate did so separately from the protests over the
film, US officials are deeply concerned that extremists may again take
advantage of non-violent demonstrations to copycat the Benghazi raid.
Meanwhile, a top Israeli Arab Knesset official Talab el-Sana warned
of 'Armageddon' if the United Nations does not intervene, telling The
Times of Israel: 'If the UN does not mobilize to stop this erosion, it
will be Armageddon.'
Egypt's
ruling Muslim Brotherhood have called for demonstrations after Friday prayers
as did authorities in Iran and the Gaza strip.
Large protests were also expected in
Baghdad and Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, as well as Amman, Jordan.
Israel was stepping up security in anticipation of demonstrations after
Muslim prayers.
Bangladesh: Also this morning, around 10,000
Muslims from half a dozen Islamist groups staged a noisy protest in
Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, burning and trampling American flags while
chanting anti-US slogans
Anger: Bangladeshi Muslims shout slogans during a protest in front of the National Mosque in Dhaka
'It is important to note that as
these protests are taking place in different countries around the world,
responding to the movie, that Friday, tomorrow, has historically been a
day when there are protests in the Muslim world,' White House press
secretary Jay Carney told reporters in Colorado.
'And we are watching very closely for developments that could lead to more protests. We anticipate that they may continue.'
The offending short video behind the
unrest was made by an American company and spoofs the life and times of
the Prophet Muhammad.
But the White house was quick yesterday to condemn its content and its anonymous makers.
Flag burning: A Kashmiri masked protester holds a
burning U.S. flag during a protest against a film the demonstrators
consider to be blasphemous to Islam
Palestine: Palestinians burn U.S flags during a protest
Bahrain: Bahrainis burn replicas of American and Israeli flags during a protest after midday prayers in Diraz, Bahrain
Unrest: Police try to stop Kashmiri lawyers
during a demonstration against the controversial film "Innocence of
Muslims" in Srinagar
Peaceful: Protesters chant slogans, in protest
of a film they consider blasphemous to Islam, during a protest march to
the U.S. embassy in Doha
Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered an explicit denunciation of
the video as the administration sought to pre-empt further turmoil at
its embassies and consulates.
'The
United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video,'
she said before a meeting with the foreign minister of Morocco at the
State Department. 'We absolutely reject its content and message.'
'To
us, to me personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible,'
Clinton said. 'It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose: to denigrate
a great religion and to provoke rage.'
While
rejecting the content of the video, Clinton stressed that no matter how
offensive it is, the film cannot be used as an excuse for violence like
that seen in Egypt, where a mob breached the walls of the US Embassy in
Cairo on Wednesday, and in Yemen, where demonstrators tried to storm
the embassy compound in Sanaa on Thursday.
US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, who was killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi
'There is no justification, none at
all, for responding to this video with violence,' Clinton said.
'We
condemn the violence that has resulted in the strongest terms. ... It is
especially wrong for violence to be directed against diplomatic
missions. These are places whose very purpose is peaceful: to promote
better understanding across countries and cultures.'
She then reminded foreign governments that they have a responsibility to protect embassies.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
followed suit, adding: 'The hateful film that appears to have been
deliberately designed to sow bigotry and bloodshed.'
The intelligence leading up to the
attacks will be examined to 'see if there was any way of forecasting
this violence,' as in any violent incident, House Intelligence Committee
member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in an interview Thursday.
But he
said the focus now 'has to be on finding out who is responsible and
bringing them to justice.'
US officials said they suspect that
the attack at the Benghazi consulate, which had also been the target of
an unsuccessful attack in June, may have been only tangentially related
to the film.
They also stressed there had been no
advance warning or intelligence to suggest a threat in Libya that would
warrant boosting security, even on the 11th anniversary of the terror
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
'As we did with all of our missions
overseas, in advance of the September 11 anniversary and as we do every
year, we did evaluate the threat stream and we determined that the
security at Benghazi was appropriate for what we knew,' State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
President Barack Obama, speaking a campaign event in Golden, Colorado, also vowed that the perpetrators would be punished.
'I
want people around the world to hear me,' he said. 'To all those who
would do us harm: No act of terror will go unpunished. I will not dim
the light of the values that we proudly present to the rest of the
world. No act of violence shakes the resolve of the United States of
America.'
As of
Thursday morning, there was no intelligence indicating that what
happened in Benghazi was planned, according to two U.S. officials
briefed on the investigation into the attack. Intelligence officials
said they believe it's more likely that the attack was 'opportunistic or
spontaneous,' with militants taking advantage of the demonstration to
launch the assault.
Clashes: A protester throws a tear gas canister,
which was earlier thrown by riot police, during clashes along a road
which leads to the U.S. embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday
A riot policeman shouts a warning to
stone-throwing protesters during clashes along a road which leads to the
US embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo, yesterday
Planned? Officials have said Tuesday's attacks
have been 'too coordinated or professional' to be unplanned and could
have relied on a mole to give the extremists valuable information
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