Blowback in Middle East, Africa and Asia

As one commentator said yesterday, this is blowback time.  This not just about a nasty film denigrating the prophet Mohammed - it is a reaction to western policies in general.

There have been demonstrations throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia 

I have chosen RT for their coverage but for on-the-ground journalism al-Jazeera will be giving good coverage - but for their bias on Libya and Syria I trust them much less.

 

Three killed, 29 injured as Tunisian protesters clash with police, scale US embassy walls

At least three people have been killed and 29 wounded near the US embassy in Tunis as protesters attacked the compound, climbing the gates of the diplomatic complex and tearing down the US flag.

RT,

14 September, 2012

After a few hours of violent and deadly clashes between outraged protesters and police officers, security forces managed to expel the demonstrators from inside the embassy compound.

The clashes took place after protesters left Friday evening prayers and marched to the embassy. Demonstrators had been protesting peacefully for hours when about 300 started to break through the gates. Witnesses reported that the embassy’s US flag had been replaced with a black flag. Protesters set fire to trees and smashed windows. 

 

A large fire and thick plume of black smoke was seen inside the compound. Police fired tear gas canisters into the crowd and protesters lobbed rocks at the security forces. Later police opened fire to suppress an assault on the embassy, but it remains unclear if rounds or rubber bullets were used. 

 

Petrol bombs were thrown at a separate part of the embassy, causing fire as security forces continued to launch tear gas and warning shots.

Protesters also looted and set fire to American secondary school, attended mainly by foreigners, located across the road runing along the back of the embassy, Tunisia's official news agency has confirme. No children or staffers were injured, as the school was closed on Friday.

Mass protests continue to rage throughout the Arab world in the wake of the release of the incendiary anti-Islamic film ‘Innocence of Muslims.’

Protesters torch KFC in Tripoli, Lebanon

Demonstrators in Tripoli, Lebanon, burned down a restaurant belonging to US-based chain KFC in protest against an anti-Islamic film mocking the Prophet Muhammad. At least one person was killed and 24 were wounded in the clashes with police.

RT,

14 September, 2012

Following Friday prayers, hundreds of demonstrators massed in protest against the Pope's three-day visit to Lebanon and shouted anti-American slogans.

The chants included "We don't want the Pope," and "No more insults [to Islam]," witnesses reported.

Security forces fired warning shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the protesters, who marched from Tripoli’s Al-Mansouri Mosque to nearby Nour Square.

Another 300 protesters marched a half-kilometer down the road and attacked an American fast-food chain, setting the building on fire. The restaurant’s employees were evacuated.

Following the torching of the American restaurant, the Tripoli protesters regrouped and attempted to storm the Prime Minister’s headquarters at the Grand Serail. Witnesses in the area claimed they heard gunshots.

Lebanese officials confirmed that one person was killed and 25 were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces, which then cordoned off the area to block the demonstrators’ advance. Twelve members of the security forces were wounded by stones thrown by protesters, Reuters reports.

The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) reported that unknown assailants opened fire near the Tripoli Serail, prompting security forces to fire back, RT's Lucy Kafanov wrote on Twitter.

The violence came amid widespread protest in the Arab world against the incendiary anti-Islamic film ‘Innocence of Muslims.’

Lebanon is just another in a handful of countries hit by the wave of outrage sparked Tuesday by the anti-Islam movie “Innocence of Muslims.” In the most violent display of discontent so far, an armed mob killed four US diplomatic staff, including the ambassador to Libya, during an attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi.

On Thursday, Muslim protesters clashed with police near the US embassy in Cairo for the third consecutive day. Meanwhile, in Yemen at least four protesters were killed and dozens more injured when security forces opened fire at protesters after hundreds stormed the US Embassy in Sana'a, the country's capital.

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Three protesters killed as crowds attempt to storm US, German, UK embassies in Sudan

Three protesters have been killed in front of the US embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after being run over by police vehicles, according to Al Jazeera.

RT,

14 September, 2012

More than 5,000 demonstrators have gathered in front of the embassy, setting fires on a square nearby. Many of the demonstrators were bussed to the location from the UK and German embassies, according to Reuters.

A spokesperson for the US embassy says all protesters were expelled from inside the compound.

Local witnesses reported on Twitter that a mob of an estimated ten to 15 thousand people were torching the building.

Gunfire was heard outside the building, according to a reporter for Reuters.

Many say the attack shouldn't have come as a surprise to Washington.

“Arab nations have been building up a strong sentiment against the US for some time, viewing it as an anti-Islamic country – particularly because of the wars it fights inside Islamic nations,” investigative journalist Gareth Porter told RT.

"This should be a wake-up call – a red light flashing – for the national security elite in the US. They need to take a deep breath and have a rethink about the broad policy they’ve been following with regards to national security," Porter said.

It comes after police fired tear gas on demonstrators after they stormed the German embassy, pulling down its emblem and raising an Islamic flag in its place.

The German Foreign Minister has confirmed the attack, and says the building was set on fire.

"Germany is not yet up to facing this kind of attack. Similar attacks usually hurt US, British or French embassies, because of their involvement in recent NATO adventures, but Germany is new to the club – so that means our embassy security system is not yet up to our foreign policy," Christoph Horstel, who heads a government and business consulting firm, told RT.

Protesters also set nearby cars and trash cans on fire as police fired tear gas, according to AP. 

 

Demonstrators smashed windows of the building and started a fire in front of the main gate, a witness told Reuters.

The German Foreign Minister says the embassy was vacated before the protest began, and that all employees are safe.

The British Foreign Office has confirmed ongoing demonstrations outside the UK embassy in Khartoum. Sudanese police are currently at the scene.

In addition al-Jazeera is giving full coverage of events