The fury over an anti-Islam film that targeted American diplomatic missions has
spread
Anti-American fury over film hits Australia; protesters clash with police -
CNN.com
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 15, 2012 -- Updated 0914 GMT (1714 HKT)
CNN.com
Capital cities and other cities in North Africa and the Middle East where
protests against an anti-Islam film have broken out.
Capital cities and other cities in North Africa and the Middle East where
protests against an anti-Islam film have broken out. A desk inside the burnt
U.S. Consulate building in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday, September 13, two days
after an attack on the building in which the U.S. ambassador and three other
U.S. nationals were killed. The attack came as protesters outside the compound
rallied against a movie that unflatteringly portrays Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
Photos: Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings The damage inside the burnt
U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Thursday. A lounge chair and umbrella float in
the swimming pool of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Thursday. Demonstrators
on Wednesday, September 12, gather in Libya to condemn the killers and voice
support for the victims in the attack on the U.S. Consulate. U.S. President
Barack Obama makes a statement about the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens with
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Rose Garden at the White House on
Wednesday in Washington. A burnt vehicle is seen at the U.S. Consulate in
Benghazi, Libya, on Wednesday. People inspect the damage at the U.S. Consulate
in Benghazi, Libya, on Wednesday. A small American flag is seen in the rubble
at the U.S. Consulate on Wednesday. President Barack Obama and Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton stand at Andrews Air Force Base as the bodies of the four
Americans killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi are returned. A man stands
in part of the burned-out compound Wednesday. Smoke and fire damage is evident
in this consulate building. Half-burnt debris and ash cover the floor of one of
the consulate buildings. The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames
Tuesday, September 11. A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi
burns Tuesday night. A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames
after it was set on fire inside the compound Tuesday. Flames erupt outside of a
building in the U.S. consulate compound on Tuesday. A vehicle burns during the
attack Tuesday on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Onlookers record the damage
from the attack on Tuesday. Onlookers walk past a burning truck and building in
the compound on Tuesday. A vehicle sits smoldering in flames on Tuesday. People
duck flames outside a consulate building on Tuesday. Photos: Protesters storm
U.S. Embassy buildings HIDE CAPTION
(CNN) -- The fury over an anti-Islam film that targeted American diplomatic
missions has spread to include a number of other Western facilities in the
Muslim world, raising the specter Saturday of a widening protest.
Attacks on German and British embassies in Sudan, the ransacking of an American
school in Tunisia, a fire at a U.S.-based fast-food restaurant in Lebanon and
attacks against multi-national peacekeepers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula were
among the latest targets in protests that turned violent.
Top Western diplomats warned leaders in countries where the unrest has been
most pronounced to ensure the protection of its missions and its people.
"I am following the unfolding events with grave concern and call on national
authorities in all countries concerned to swiftly ensure the security of
diplomatic mission and protect diplomatic staff," Catherine Ashton, the
European Union foreign affairs chief, said in a statement.
"It is vitally important leaders across the affected regions should call
immediately for peace and restraint."
Slain ambassador returns
Inside the U.S. consulate in Benghazi
Possible security leak in Libya
Protest targets German embassy in Sudan
America's mixed message to Egypt
The search for the Benghazi attackers
Egyptians demand apology from Obama
Libya struggling to deal with militants
Does U.S. need to up security abroad?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took it one step further, warning that the
United States would take action to protect its diplomatic facilities if the
countries in question did not stop the violence and seek justice for the
attacks.
"Reasonable people and responsible leaders in these countries need to do
everything they can to restore security and hold accountable those behind these
violent acts," she said Friday.
"And we will ... keep taking steps to protect our personnel around the world."
>From Morocco to Malaysia, thousands of Muslims have taken to the streets in
>recent days -- with sometimes deadly results -- over the release of a
>14-minute trailer, privately produced in the United States, that mocks the
>Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer, child molester and ruthless killer.
Despite the firm condemnation by U.S. government officials, some in the Muslim
world -- especially those raised in regimes in which the government must
authorize any film production -- cannot accept that a movie like "Innocence of
Muslims" can be produced without being sanctioned by Washington, said Council
of Foreign Relations scholar Ed Husain.
"They're projecting ... their experience, their understanding (that) somehow
the U.S. government is responsible for the actions of a right-wing fellow,"
said Husain, a senior fellow at the New York think thank.
The demonstrations, notably, haven't all been violent and the protesters
represent only a fraction of their respective nations' populations: A few
thousands, for example, clashed with security forces outside the U.S. embassy
in Cairo, in a city of more than 18 million people.
But protests that have turned violent have led to a number of deaths --
including those of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans
killed in an attack Tuesday in Benghazi, Libya.
At least six people were killed and dozens wounded in the clashes across the
Muslim world that followed.
Protesters, police clash in Australia
Australia became the latest nation to cope with protests as hundreds of
demonstrators clashed with police Saturday outside the U.S. consulate in Sydney.
Carrying signs that read: "Obama, Obama, we like Osama" and "Behead All Those
Who Insult the Prophet," protesters gathered on the steps of the consulate.
The demonstration turned violent after protesters were pushed back from the
building by police.
Authorities used tear gas and police dogs to disperse protesters who threw
bottles and shoes -- considered a grave insult among Muslims, according to
witnesses and police video.
At least four people were injured, including a police officer who was hit in
the face with a bottle, according to witnesses and authorities.
Here's a breakdown of events Saturday around the globe:
--In Egypt's northern Sinai, a large number of security forces backed by tanks
regained control of a base housing an international peacekeeping force that was
breached Friday by Islamist militants, state-run EGYnews reported Saturday.
The militants carrying automatic weapons burned trucks and a watch tower on the
base. The armed clashes injured at least four troops and an Islamist Bedouin.
The 1,500-troop mission has supervised the security of the Egyptian-Israeli
peace treaty since 1979.
--In the Egyptian capital of Cairo, large numbers of police were patrolling the
streets following clashes shortly after dawn Saturday between protesters and
plain-clothes security officers.
--In Afghanistan, the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a joint
U.S.-British base in Helmand province that left two U.S. troops dead, saying
the attack was in response to the film. The attack follows a call by the
Taliban on its fighters to take revenge for the film by increasing assaults on
NATO troops.
--In Tunisia, authorities warned Saturday the death toll may climb following
Friday's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tunis that left two dead.
"This initial toll might get worse as two of the wounded people are in critical
condition," the state-run TAP news agency reported.
--In Sudan's capital, Khartoum, the German and British embassies shored up
their security after protesters managed to get inside a compound that is shared
by both diplomatic missions, according to the foreign ministers of both nations.
Warnings about the online movie
Days before violent protests Tuesday in Egypt, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was
warned by the U.S. intelligence community of concerns about the anti-Islam film
that sparked the uproar, a U.S. official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
The cable sent to the embassy did not mention a specific threat. It only warned
about the existence of the online movie and the fact that it was gaining
attention.
U.S. authorities have discounted as false a producer's claims to news outlets
that the filmmaker was an Israeli who made the movie with financing from more
than 100 Jewish donors. Israel's government denies that the film's maker is
Israeli.
The filmmaker, identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, was being questioned
early Saturday morning by federal probation officials. The questioning comes
hours after federal officials said they were reviewing his probation in
connection with a 2009 bank fraud conviction.
Nakoula was escorted by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shortly after
midnight, sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. The filmmaker left his house
willingly in order to be interviewed, he said.
CNN's Amanda Watts, Jessica King, Ben Wedeman, Hamdi Alkhshali and Elise Labott
contributed to this report.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Share this article inShare
------------------------------------
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/
