Monday 4 April 2011 09.51 BST
- Article history
Protests have continued in Afghanistan against a Florida pastor's burning of the Qur'an, prompting four straight days of demonstrations against the destruction of Islam's holy book.
The protest in eastern Laghman province briefly threatened to turn into another melee as about 300 protesters brandished sticks and threw stones at police, who in turned started firing shots in the air.
Anger flared in Alingar district with the crowd moved towards the provincial capital of Mihtarlam, where they clashed with officers, said General Abdul Aziz Gharanai, the provincial police chief.
However, protesters dispersed as officers started firing warning shots and no one was wounded, he said.
At least 21 people have been killed over three days of protests across the country.
The violence started after the burning of the Qur'an by a Florida church on 20 March – the same church whose pastor had threatened to do so last year on the anniversary of the 11 September 11 attacks, triggering worldwide outrage.
The protests began on Friday when thousands of demonstrators in the previously peaceful northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif poured into the streets after prayer services and overran a UN compound, killing three UN staff members and four Nepalese guards.
The demonstrations have appeared to awaken a simmering anti-foreign sentiment in Afghanistan, where anger about civilian casualties and more than nine years of conflict have diminished local support for western forces.
Nato said one of its service members was killed on Sunday in an insurgent attack in the east. It did not disclose other details or the nationality of the dead. The majority of troops in the east are American.
The latest death takes the number of Nato personnel killed so far this year to 102. In the same period of 2010, 129 troops died.
No comments:
Post a Comment