Friday, 24 February 2012
About 250 protesters gather to march on the streets of Quetta to condemn the burning of copies of the Koran at NATO's main base in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
Twelve people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest day yet in protests that have raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence.
The burning of the Qurans at the Bagram compound earlier this week has deepened public mistrust of NATO forces struggling to stabilize Afghanistan before foreign combat troops withdraw in 2014.
Hundreds of Afghans marched towards the palace of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, while on the other side of the capital protesters hoisted the white flag of the Taliban.
The burning of the Qurans at the Bagram compound earlier this week has deepened public mistrust of NATO forces struggling to stabilize Afghanistan before foreign combat troops withdraw in 2014.
Hundreds of Afghans marched towards the palace of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, while on the other side of the capital protesters hoisted the white flag of the Taliban.
Chanting “Death to America!” and “Long live Islam!” protesters also threw rocks at police in Kabul, while Afghan army helicopters circled above.
The protests flared after Friday prayers, where mullahs condemned “Infidels” for the desecration of Qurans.
“Those who have committed this crime should be identified and should be publicly executed,” said mullah Mohammad Ayaz Niazi at Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan mosque.
“You have not just betrayed a nation, but you have played with the faith and sentiments of 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide, and you have trampled their holy book,” he said, while urging that any protests should be peaceful.
Armed protesters took refuge in shops in the eastern part of the city, where they killed one demonstrator, said police at the scene. In another Kabul rally, police said they were unsure who fired the shots that killed a second protester.
Rallies also broke out in northern Kunduz province, as well in central Bamiyan and Ghazni and eastern Nangarhar, AFP correspondents said.
Two US soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan soldier at a protest on Thursday. French, Norwegian and U.S. military bases also came under attack, after insurgents exhorted their countrymen to kill foreign troops in revenge.
The protests flared after Friday prayers, where mullahs condemned “Infidels” for the desecration of Qurans.
“Those who have committed this crime should be identified and should be publicly executed,” said mullah Mohammad Ayaz Niazi at Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan mosque.
“You have not just betrayed a nation, but you have played with the faith and sentiments of 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide, and you have trampled their holy book,” he said, while urging that any protests should be peaceful.
Armed protesters took refuge in shops in the eastern part of the city, where they killed one demonstrator, said police at the scene. In another Kabul rally, police said they were unsure who fired the shots that killed a second protester.
Rallies also broke out in northern Kunduz province, as well in central Bamiyan and Ghazni and eastern Nangarhar, AFP correspondents said.
Two US soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan soldier at a protest on Thursday. French, Norwegian and U.S. military bases also came under attack, after insurgents exhorted their countrymen to kill foreign troops in revenge.
Storming U.S. consulate
In Herat city, three people died as around 500 protesters surged towards the U.S. consulate while four more were killed elsewhere in the usually relatively calm western province, provincial spokesman Moheedin Noori told AFP.
The U.S. embassy in Kabul has been in lockdown for days, while extra security forces are protecting foreign missions and other strategic places, some armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns.
Two more were killed in the eastern Khost province and one in the relatively peaceful northern Baghlan province, health and local officials said.
“Seven people were killed and 50 others were injured ̶ mostly in gunfire ̶ across Herat province,’ said Noori.
A security official told AFP that some had tried to grab guns from the police.
Another protester was shot dead and two wounded when demonstrators tried to overrun the Czech-led military-civilian provincial reconstruction team in northeastern Baghlan province, provincial governor Abdul Majeed said.
The U.S. embassy in Kabul has been in lockdown for days, while extra security forces are protecting foreign missions and other strategic places, some armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns.
Two more were killed in the eastern Khost province and one in the relatively peaceful northern Baghlan province, health and local officials said.
“Seven people were killed and 50 others were injured ̶ mostly in gunfire ̶ across Herat province,’ said Noori.
A security official told AFP that some had tried to grab guns from the police.
Another protester was shot dead and two wounded when demonstrators tried to overrun the Czech-led military-civilian provincial reconstruction team in northeastern Baghlan province, provincial governor Abdul Majeed said.
Obama’s apology does not suffice
U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Karzai apologizing for the unintentional burning of the Korans at NATO’s Bagram air base, after Afghan labourers found charred copies while collecting rubbish.
Meanwhile, General John Allen, a NATO commander said that “working together with the Afghan leadership is the only way for us to correct this major error and ensure that it never happens again.”
Government investigators urged Afghans to “avoid resorting to protests and demonstrations that may provide ground for the enemy to take advantage of the situation.”
Afghanistan wants NATO to put those responsible on public trial, and the Taliban urged Afghan security forces on Thursday to “turn their guns on the foreign infidel invaders” and repeatedly urged Afghans to kill, beat and capture NATO soldiers.
The circumstances surrounding the Quran incident are still subject to investigation. But U.S. officials told AFP the military removed the books from a prison at Bagram because inmates were suspected of using them to pass messages.
Muslims consider the Quran to be the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence. Desecration is considered one of the worst forms of blasphemy.
Meanwhile, General John Allen, a NATO commander said that “working together with the Afghan leadership is the only way for us to correct this major error and ensure that it never happens again.”
Government investigators urged Afghans to “avoid resorting to protests and demonstrations that may provide ground for the enemy to take advantage of the situation.”
Afghanistan wants NATO to put those responsible on public trial, and the Taliban urged Afghan security forces on Thursday to “turn their guns on the foreign infidel invaders” and repeatedly urged Afghans to kill, beat and capture NATO soldiers.
The circumstances surrounding the Quran incident are still subject to investigation. But U.S. officials told AFP the military removed the books from a prison at Bagram because inmates were suspected of using them to pass messages.
Muslims consider the Quran to be the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence. Desecration is considered one of the worst forms of blasphemy.
Protests elsewhere
In neighboring U.S. ally Pakistan, about 400 members of a hardline Islamist group staged protests. “If you burn the Quran, we will burn you,” they shouted.
To Afghanistan’s west, Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami said the U.S. had purposely burned the Korans. “These apologies are fake. The world should know that America is against Islam,” he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio.
“It (the Quran burning) was not a mistake. It was an intentional move, done on purpose.”
Most Westerners have been confined to their heavily fortified compounds, including at the sprawling U.S. embassy complex and other diplomatic missions, as protests that have killed a total of 23 people, including two U.S. soldiers, rolled into their fourth day.
The embassy, in a message on the microblogging site Twitter, urged U.S. citizens to “please be safe out there” and expanded movement restrictions to relatively peaceful northern provinces, where large demonstrations also occurred on Thursday, including the attempted storming of a Norwegian military base.
Last April, 10 people were killed and a UN compound in the north was overrun during days of unrest unleashed by the burning of a Koran by American pastor Terry Jones in Florida.
Germany, which has the third-largest foreign presence in the NATO-led war, pulled out several weeks early of a small base in the northern Takhar province on Friday over security concerns, a defense ministry spokesman said.
The U.S.-led NATO coalition has some 130,000 troops in Afghanistan, fighting an insurgency by remnants of the Taliban government overthrown in 2001 for sheltering Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks.
The coalition plans to pull out all combat troops by 2014, but several countries are under pressure at home to call an early end to the unpopular campaign.
To Afghanistan’s west, Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami said the U.S. had purposely burned the Korans. “These apologies are fake. The world should know that America is against Islam,” he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio.
“It (the Quran burning) was not a mistake. It was an intentional move, done on purpose.”
Most Westerners have been confined to their heavily fortified compounds, including at the sprawling U.S. embassy complex and other diplomatic missions, as protests that have killed a total of 23 people, including two U.S. soldiers, rolled into their fourth day.
The embassy, in a message on the microblogging site Twitter, urged U.S. citizens to “please be safe out there” and expanded movement restrictions to relatively peaceful northern provinces, where large demonstrations also occurred on Thursday, including the attempted storming of a Norwegian military base.
Last April, 10 people were killed and a UN compound in the north was overrun during days of unrest unleashed by the burning of a Koran by American pastor Terry Jones in Florida.
Germany, which has the third-largest foreign presence in the NATO-led war, pulled out several weeks early of a small base in the northern Takhar province on Friday over security concerns, a defense ministry spokesman said.
The U.S.-led NATO coalition has some 130,000 troops in Afghanistan, fighting an insurgency by remnants of the Taliban government overthrown in 2001 for sheltering Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks.
The coalition plans to pull out all combat troops by 2014, but several countries are under pressure at home to call an early end to the unpopular campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment