Violence from anti-Muslim film continues, wreaks havoc across Muslim regions

Lebanon:

One person was killed and several were wounded as demonstrators waged a protest against the "Anti-Islam" film, setting a KFC restaurant on fire in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon.

According to Reuters sources, 12 members of the security forces were among the wounded by stones thrown by protesters. The Internal Security Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces worked on dispersing protesters, while fire fighters rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire. A number of rioters attempted to break into Tripoli Serail. This as heavy gun shot fire was heard around the premises of the governmental building.

Nigeria:
 
Protests reached Nigeria where Nigerian troops fired live rounds in city of Jos to disperse Muslims protesting against anti-Muslim film.

Sudan:

At least one protester was killed on Friday during a demonstration against an anti-Islam film outside the U.S. embassy in Sudan, a doctor said.   

"We just got one dead body brought in," said the doctor at a Khartoum hospital, who declined to be identified.   

A Reuters reporter earlier saw two protesters lying on the ground covered in blood in front of the U.S. embassy, where police had fired tear gas to try to disperse thousands of protesters.

Protesters earlier hosted an Islamic flag at the U.S. embassy compound after breaching an outer security wall, the witness said. One person was left lying in a pool of blood after being struck by a police car and police withdrew from the area shortly after the incident, he added.

Earlier Islamists attacked the German Embassy and tried to break into the British Embassy in Sudan. The Sudanese Police fired teargas in an attempt to disperse the crowds but it wasn’t long before they broke into the German Embassy building in Khartoum raising the Al-Qaeda flag. Afterwards, the Sudanese protesters smashed the embassy’s building and set it on fire. Sources reported later that the Sudanese protesters moved in cars and buses towards the US Embassy outside Khartoum. The Sudanese Police fired tear gas to prevent around 10,000 protesters from arriving to the embassy.

The German Foreign Minister announced later that the embassy's staff are safe and told the Sudanese Ambassador to Germany that his government is responsible for the security of the diplomats. The minister also condemned the “anti-Islamic hate video” but stressed that it is no excuse for violence.

Tunisia:

Protesters had set fire to trees in the U.S. embassy compound. "(U.S. President Barack) Obama, Obama, we are all Osamas," the protesters chanted, in reference to the slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

It was not immediately clear if police fired live rounds or rubber bullets. A large fire erupted inside the compound which has been invaded by hundreds of people incensed by a U.S.-made film that demeans the Prophet Mohammad. They smashed windows and set fire to trees.

Egypt: 

Egyptian protesters angry at a film they say insults Prophet Mohammad hurled stones on Friday at a line of police in Cairo blocking their way to the U.S. embassy, which was attacked earlier this week.

Police in riot gear fired tear gas and threw stones back at the demonstrators. A burnt-out car was overturned in the middle of the street which leads to the fortified embassy from Tahrir Square.

Yemen:

In Yemen security forces blocked streets surrounding the U.S. embassy in Sanaa on Friday, bracing for more protests against a film deemed blasphemous to Islam, a day after demonstrators stormed the heavily fortified compound and clashed with police.
   
Early on Friday, around 20 to 30 people had gathered on the north side of the embassy, carrying placards and shouting slogans against the film, which depicts the Prophet Mohammad in terms which many Muslims have described as crude and insulting.
   
A soldier on duty near the embassy told Reuters security forces were expecting more demonstrators to arrive after Friday prayers, which begin at 0930 GMT.
   
Local media reported on Friday that a group of U.S. marines had flown into Sanaa's international airport on Thursday to bolster the embassy's security. A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Sanaa declined to comment on the reports.
   
At least one person died and 15 were injured at Thursday's demonstration, which started as a peaceful march but quickly turned violent when protesters threw stones and placards before attacking the security offices and the compound.

Later in the day, Washington reported that a platoon of Marines from with the fleet anti-terrorism security team have been sent to Yemen to bolster security at the embassy and are now on the ground in Sanaa, the Pentagon said on Friday. 

India-Kashmir:

Hundreds of protesters in Indian-administered Kashmir held a march on Friday to express their anger over an anti-Islam film that has sparked outrage among Muslims around the world.

The march was organized by a group of lawyers in Srinagar, the capital city of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Chanting anti-America slogans, the protesters tried to march towards the centre of the city but were restrained by police.

Afghanistan:

Kuwait:

Around 200 demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. embassy in Kuwait shouting slogans such as "God is great." They hoisted banners, one of which bread in English: "USA stop the bullshit. Respect us."

Kuwaiti riot police encircled the crowd of men protesting peacefully in their traditional Kuwaiti dress. They chanted Pro "Osama Bin Laden" slogans while demeaning "Obama". Protesters also raised the "Al Qaeda" flag.

Earlier in the week, there were protests outside U.S. missions in Tunisia, Morocco and Sudan.


Reactions:

The U.S. put all of its diplomatic missions overseas on high alert, and 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.                           

U.S. 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.                    

Libyan officials arrested an unspecified number of militants suspected of taking part in the attack and they were closely monitoring others to see whether they are linked to a group.                    

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday denounced the violence, and also the provocative video.
           
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 U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Wednesday, and in Yemen, where demonstrators tried to storm the embassy compound in Sanaa on Thursday.                         

Around the world, U.S. missions issued warnings to Americans about demonstrations that could turn violent. More than 50 embassies and consulates have released such alerts since Wednesday, the State Department said.

For his part, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the film, describing it as a "plot against all Muslims".

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday also condemned the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, calling it a tragedy, and made clear he believed Western support for rebels in Arab countries was leading to chaos.         

Putin, who has sharply criticized the United States and NATO for helping Libyan rebels drive Muammar Gaddafi from power and has warned of further bloodshed, said the attack underscored the need for closer cooperation against extremism.           


AP/REUTERS/LBCI