Middle East on Fire

Egypt protests: Сars torched, police firebombed at US Embassy

Egyptian protesters have set a car on fire, erected barricades, and thrown Molotov cocktails at officers outside the US Embassy in Cairo. Security forces have formed a ring around the embassy and are throwing stones at demonstrators.

RT,

13 September, 2012

Earlier, police fired tear gas and warning shots at the crowd. Some 30 demonstrators have been injured and 12 others arrested, journalists on Twitter quoted the Egyptian Interior Ministry as saying.

 Tensions continue to mount, as a crowd of protesters attempting to enter the compound are continuously repelled by police.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi pledged to prevent further attacks against foreign embassies in Cairo. Morsi made the remarks during a trip to the European Union, where he condemned the violence “in the clearest terms.”

A protester throws stones towards riot policemen during clashes along a road which leads to the U.S. embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo September 13, 2012. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

On Wednesday, several hundred protesters rallied in front of the embassy, chanting “leave Egypt” and demanding that the US apologize for an American-made film that mocks Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

Dozens of riot police were then deployed in the area to contain the demonstrators and divert them into side streets. Clashes continued into the night, with protesters throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at police.

Some of the protesters were injured, state news agency MENA reported. Witnesses wrote on Twitter that as many as several dozen people may have been injured. At least six police officers suffered injuries during the clashes, said Alla Mahmoud, a spokesperson for Egypt's Interior Ministry. 

 

The incident comes just a day after some 2,000 demonstrators massed around the US embassy; a group of the protesters tore down the US flag and replaced it with a black banner bearing the traditional Islamic message, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.”

Four participants in Tuesday's demonstration who scaled the embassy wall were arrested and transferred to the prosecutor's office. Police are still searching for others involved in the incident.

The now-notorious movie 'Innocence of Muslims' has sparked a wave of similar protests across the Arab world. On Tuesday, armed militants attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing the ambassador and three other diplomatic staffers. 

 

President Barack Obama strongly condemned the killings, pledging that the US would be “relentless” in its pursuit of the attackers. Following the incident, the US military deployed two warships to the coast of Libya and sent a team of some 50 Marines to the country to reinforce security at American diplomatic facilities.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi vowed not to tolerate attacks on diplomatic missions, and said that Egyptians reject such unlawful acts, the AP reported.

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Yemen protesters attempt to storm US embassy, repelled by police

Yemeni police reportedly shot a protester, as hundreds of demonstrators stormed the US embassy in the capital city of Sanaa. Police forced the crowd to leave the embassy premises.

RT,

13 September, 2012

Conflicting casualty figures have emerged: Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that at least one person was killed in the clashes, citing witnesses, while the Yemeni embassy in Washington denied reports of fatalities.

Embassy staffers were taken to a secure location, the Yemen Times reported.

Plumes of smoke rose outside the embassy as protesters chanted "Death to America", witnesses reported.

Two cars exploded after two bombs were thrown into the embassy compound, and heavy gunfire was also heard in the area, local media reported.

The crowds also burned tires near the embassy and smashed windows at the entrance to the compound, reports said.

Security forces responded by deploying water cannons, and were prepared to use them against the crowd.

Earlier, the demonstrators had allegedly breached the embassy grounds but had been unable to enter the building. The embassy denied reports that protesters had entered its offices, saying that the clashes took place at the perimeter of the embassy grounds.

Yemeni protesters try to break through the gate of the US embassy in Sanaa during a protest over a film mocking Islam on September 13, 2012. (AFP Photo/Mohammed Huwais)

The gathered crowd said they are refusing to leave until the filmmaker behind the controversial anti-Muslim movie ‘Innocence of Muslims’ is executed.

Muslims have taken to the streets across the Middle East in protest against the US amateur film satirizing the Prophet Muhammad. US embassies around the world have responded to the unrest by tightening security measures.

On Wednesday, the US ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staffers died when militia members attacked the Benghazi consulate.

Egyptian demonstrators also clashed with police near the US embassy in Cairo.

In a bid to stem the violence, Afghanistan and Pakistan have blocked access to YouTube to prevent the ‘Innocence of Muslims’ from being viewed.

Demonstrators also gathered in Iraq to protest the film. They carried signs, chanted and burned an American flag.

And Kuwaiti Sheikh Nabil Al-Awadhi called on his 1.3 million Twitter followers to demonstrate in front of the US embassy in Kuwait City after evening prayers.

There are also reports  from - 

Reuters

BBC

al-Jazeera