FYI --
BBC News Asia 22 February 2012 Last updated at 10:46 GMT Afghan Koran burning at Bagram sparks fresh protests At least four people have been killed and 20 injured in Afghanistan as protests spread over the burning of copies of the Koran at a US airbase. One person has been killed in Kabul, one in the eastern city of Jalalabad and two in Parwan province. US officials apologised on Tuesday after Korans were "inadvertently" put in an incinerator at Bagram airbase. Officials at Bagram reportedly believed Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other. The charred remains of the volumes were found by local labourers. Pro-Taliban slogans Protesters in Kabul shouted, "Death to America!" and threw stones at Camp Phoenix, the main US base in the city. Riot police used water cannon to disperse protesters, some of whom were blocking the road leading to Jalalabad, one of the main trade routes into the capital. Witnesses said security guards were firing into the air. There were also reports of people chanting pro-Taliban slogans. One protester in Kabul was killed and 10 wounded. Two further deaths were reported in the Shinwari district of Parwan province, north of Kabul. A doctor in Jalalabad told the BBC one person had been killed and 10 injured. Protesters burned an effigy of US President Barack Obama in Jalalabad, and a BBC reporter said oil tankers had been set on fire. One protester, 18-year-old Ajmal, told Reuters: "When the Americans insult us to this degree, we will join the insurgents." The US embassy in Kabul is on lockdown and all travel is suspended. "Everyone is emotional," Kabul resident Mohammad Naseer Malikzai told the BBC. "I am hurting and disappointed. "I created a Facebook group where I was disputing with a lot of people. The American apology is useless." Isaf investigation US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said he and Gen Allen apologised to the Afghan people "and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms". After previous incidents, many Afghans find it hard to understand how US forces could have allowed the Koran to have been burned, says the BBC's Andrew North, in Kabul. Afghanistan is a very religious country, he adds, but also one where many people are illiterate and susceptible to attempts to whip up anger. Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence. The Nato-led Isaf force is now investigating the incident, a spokesman told the BBC. "It was the local workers who discovered the nature of the material and therefore stopped worse things from happening," said Brig Gen Karsten Jacobson. "But it was a mistake and that's what we're investigating at the moment: how did this come to be, what orders were given? "But at the end of the day we have to stand to the fact a mistake was made and the commander apologised." Last year, at least 24 people died in protests across Afghanistan after a hardline US pastor burned a Koran in Florida. On Tuesday, one person was wounded and five detained after troops at Bagram, 60km (40 miles) north of Kabul, fired rubber bullets at protests. Bagram includes a prison for Afghans detained by Nato forces. BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
