Protests Rage Over Anti-Muslim Film

Posted September 14th, 2012 at 2:55 pm (UTC-5)
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A fourth day of protests erupted across the Muslim world Friday, where anger continues to grow over an anti-Islamic video posted on the Internet.

From Tunisia to Egypt, Sudan to Yemen, protesters laid siege to embassies of the U.S. and its allies, denouncing the video and those they feel have not done enough to stop it. At least two deaths were reported.

Some of Friday's most violent demonstrations took place in the Sudanese capital, where angry crowds clashed with police after descending on embassies belonging to the United States, Britain and Germany. Witnesses said at least one protester was killed outside the U.S. embassy.

At least one person was also killed in protests in northern Lebanon that also injured 25.

Protesters stormed the U.S. embassy in Tunis and set fires.

At an air base outside Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton watched, then paid tribute, as the bodies of four Americans killed in Libya earlier this week came home.

U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three of his staffers were killed at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, on Tuesday, after protesters upset over the film attacked the building.

The ongoing violent protests have prompted a new round of calls for calm.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday called the film sparking the protests “shameful” but warned protest leaders that exploiting the anger “only feeds the cycle of recrimination and senseless violence.”

Friday is the fourth day of protests about the film. U.S. and other foreign missions stepped up security following violent attacks that began Tuesday.

In Benghazi, Libya, where the U.S. ambassador and three other American personnel were killed, security was stepped up around the city and the airport temporarily closed. U.S. warships are headed to the Libyan coast, while additional U.S. marine guards are deployed to protect the American embassy in Yemen, breached by protesters Thursday.

But the protests have continued to spread. In Tunisia, gray smoke rose above the U.S. embassy in Tunis where protesters clashed with police and some managed to jump the wall surrounding the building. Police in the Nigerian city of Jos said they had to fire into the air to disperse hundreds of young protesters.

Angry protesters also clashed with international peacekeepers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, setting fire to their base, not far from the Gaza border. Protests also took place in Jerusalem, Gaza, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Yemen.

In many Cairo mosques Friday, the video, a crudely-made attempt to mock the Prophet Muhammad, was the topic of the day. One imam reminded worshippers that Egyptians, under their new, Islamist government, can now openly defend the prophet from such insults.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who has condemned the video, spoke out again Friday on the need to keep protests in check.

Egyptian security forces built a barrier Friday to block the route to the embassy. Egyptian police used tear gas earlier to break up the protests.