Afghans riot over Koran report, 4 dead: official
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8454443
Afghan police opened fire on protesters on Wednesday in violent
demonstrations which left four dead and dozens wounded after a report
that U.S. interrogators had desecrated the Koran, a health official
said.
U.S. troops stationed in the conservative Muslim city of Jalalabad, 130
km (80 miles) east of the capital, Kabul, were confined to base during
the protest, witnesses said.
Government offices in Jalalabad were set on fire, shops looted, and
U.N. buildings and diplomatic missions attacked as thousands took to
the streets, witnesses and officials said.
Police fired to disperse crowds several times, witnesses said. Four
people had been killed and 52 wounded, provincial health chief Fazel
Mohammad Ibrahimi said after compiling information from three city
hospitals.
"Police had to open fire on the protesters, they were destroying the
city," provincial police chief Hazrat Ali told Reuters. He declined to
comment on casualties.
About 1,000 school students demonstrated in nearby Laghman province. In
Khost city, also in the east, protesters burned a picture of U.S.
President George. W. Bush and a U.S. flag.
There was also a report of a protest in Wardak province, southwest of
the capital. Kabul was quiet.
Newsweek magazine said in a recent edition that investigators probing
abuses at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay had discovered
that interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one
case flushed a holy book down the toilet."
U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai told reporters during a visit to
NATO headquarters in Brussels: "It shows Afghan institutions are not
yet ready to handle protests ... That must be made better."
The provincial governor and other officials were unavailable for
comment. Witnesses said police and national army troops had restored
order by early afternoon.
The United States commands a foreign force in Afghanistan of about
18,300, most of them American, fighting Taliban insurgents and hunting
Taliban and al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, architect of
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The United States is holding more than 500 prisoners from its war on
terrorism at the naval base on Cuba. Many of them were detained in
Afghanistan after U.S.-led troops drove the Taliban from power in late
2001.
About 2,000 students chanting "Death to America" protested in Jalalabad
on Tuesday demanding an apology and punishment for those involved in
the reported incident.
But many more turned out on Wednesday with ordinary residents also
taking part, said a witness who estimated that well over 5,000 people
were involved.
The protesters also denounced Karzai, destroying a big portrait of him
and shouting "Death to America's allies" and "Death to Karzai" as well
as "Death to Bush."
"We don't want America, we don't want Karzai, we want Islam," they
shouted.
Cars were smashed, shops ransacked and government buildings torched.
Protesters also looted the Pakistani consulate, a witness said. An
Indian mission was also attacked, he said.
"The governor's office building is on fire," said one witness as smoke
billowed across the city on the main road to the Khyber Pass and
Pakistan.
Two U.N. cars were set on fire and two U.N. offices attacked but not
seriously damaged, said U.N. spokeswoman Ariane Quentier. All staff had
been accounted for and confined to safe areas.
In Kabul, a U.S. military spokesman said the reported desecration of
the Koran was being taken seriously.
"We are investigating this and other complaints to see if in fact it
has happened and, if so, to put in place procedures so that it will not
happen again," the spokesman said.
A high-level U.S. military investigation into accusations of detainee
abuse at Guantanamo Bay has still to be completed and released.
Politicians in neighboring Pakistan have also called for an apology and
an inquiry into the Newsweek report and assurances from Washington that
those responsible would be punished.
Karzai is due to visit the United States this month where he said he
would seek special long-term ties with Washington.
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